Poll: African-American Voters Shift Support to Obama

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022701030.html

The opening stages of the campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination have produced a noticeable shift in sentiment among African American voters, who little more than a month ago heavily supported New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton but now favor the candidacy of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Few constituencies are more important in Democratic politics than black voters, and the already-intense competition between Clinton and Obama for support among African Americans is one of the most closely watched aspects of the party's nomination battle.

Clinton continues to lead Obama and other rivals in the Democratic nominating contest, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. But her once-sizeable margin over the freshman senator from Illinois was sliced in half during the past month largely because of Obama's growing support among black voters.

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The latest poll put Clinton at 36 percent, Obama at 24 percent, Gore at 14 percent and Edwards at 12 percent. None of the other Democrats running received more than 3 percent. With Gore removed from the field, Clinton gained ground on Obama, leading the Illinois senator 43 percent to 27 percent. Edwards ran third at 14 percent.

Clinton's and Obama's support among white voters changed little since December, but the changes among African American Democrats were dramatic. In December and January Post-ABC News polls, Clinton led Obama among African Americans by 60 percent to 20 percent. In the new poll, Obama held a narrow advantage among blacks, 44 percent to 33 percent.

he was helping the black community as a community organizer when he could have been earning big money in various corporate jobs. I agree that African-Americans shouldn't automatically support a black candidate, but Obama has paid his dues in the community.

We don't have to hide from it, because we ARE right!!

Not because he is black but because the vast majority of blacks will be better off with his progressive policies. In fact most whites would too. It is only the conservative big money special interests who will suffer.

she was more hurt by bashing Obama than the other way around. Hillary has be very careful to not cause her unfavorables to go up by playing games like she did last week. Are we voters to stupid to realize that Geffen made the remarks, not Obama. Are we to stupid to remember that our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, even to Geffen?

Both ended up hurting themselves more than anyone else.

I've been fascinated by the wrangling among the various black communities (immigrant Americans from Africa and immigrant Americans from the Carribean and up-from-slavery-African-Americans) over whether Barack Obama is African-American, or black enough, or what kind of black. I've learned a lot from the sidelines, I must say.

Obama has a record of activism, as well as a legislative record. He's not a newcomer or novice in those arenas, but until recently has been largely unknown to anybody outside his own state.

That's all changing. He's really going to give Hillary Clinton a run for her money. :-)

Hekate