DATE: January 24, 2008

CONTACT: Joseph Stewart, (864) 656-3234
jstewa4@clemson.edu

CONTACT: Bruce Ransom, (864) 656-1650 or 0214
bruce@strom.clemson.edu

CONTACT: David Woodard, (864) 356-4408
judithw@clemson.edu

WRITER: Teresa C. Hopkins, (864) 656-1222
hopkin1@clemson.edu

EXPERT: Bruce Ransom

EXPERT: Joseph Stewart

EXPERT: David Woodard

Obama holds lead ahead of primary in Palmetto State

CLEMSON – Barack Obama holds a seven-point lead over Hillary Clinton in South Carolina ahead of the Democratic primary in South Carolina, according to the Clemson University Palmetto Poll. However, nearly 40 percent of the voters surveyed still are uncertain which candidate to support.

The poll was conducted Jan.15-23 and shows 27 percent of the respondents support Obama, 20 percent support Clinton, 17 percent support John Edwards and 36 percent remain undecided. (Download a summary of the results).

Obama is getting more than three-quarters of the African-American vote in South Carolina. In the previous Clemson University Palmetto Polls, Clinton and Obama were splitting the black vote evenly. John Edwards is receiving less than 4 percent of the black vote in the Palmetto State.

“Despite the impending vote at the end of the week, and the importance of South Carolina in the pattern of Democratic contests nationally, only half the voters had a good idea about who they were going to support,” said Clemson political scientist and poll co-author David Woodard.

An important statistic for the Democratic primary in South Carolina is that slightly more than half the electorate is African-American on election day, Woodard said.

Fifty-five percent of the poll respondents were African-American and 58 percent were female. Woodard said these demographic figures conform to the usual turnout for Democratic primary voters.

The margin of error for the Clemson University Palmetto Poll is plus or minus 4.6 percent.

The Democratic Primary in South Carolina is Saturday.

END