RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama has a commanding lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton in North Carolina, but he might face greater difficulties than she against likely Republican nominee John McCain in the general election.
In the latest WRAL News poll, 56 percent of likely Democratic voters said they would give Obama their support in the Democratic primary. Thirty-three percent chose Clinton, and 11 percent were unsure.
A WRAL News poll in early March showed Obama with a seven-point lead.
However, 57 percent thought Clinton would fare better against McCain, while less than a third gave Obama the same credit.
Fifty-six percent of Clinton supporters also said they would not vote for Obama in a head-to-head match with McCain. Clinton would likely draw the votes of 68 percent of those who chose Obama in the primary.
Obama got a favorable rating from 75 percent of likely Democratic primary voters, while Clinton received 66 percent. The change in those ratings from a month earlier were within the poll’s margin of error.
In the past month, Obama grew his lead among blacks by 15 percent and shrank Clinton’s 20-point lead among whites to 7 percent. Obama garnered the support of 86 percent of blacks, and Clinton had 47 percent of whites in the April 3 poll.
There did not appear to be a gender divide. Clinton and Obama drew support from men and woman proportional to their share in the overall poll.