Rasmussen: McCain 50% Obama 44%

Another poll shows McCain leading Obama in the Magnolia State.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Mississippi shows John McCain leading Barack Obama 50% to 44%.

The strong racial divide is highlighted by the fact that Obama earns 44% of the vote in a sample where 36% of the voters are African-American. Obama overwhelmingly wins the African-American vote. Obama also leads among voters under 40 while McCain wins most votes from those 40 and older. Women are essentially evenly divided between the two candidates, while McCain leads by eleven percentage points among men.

George Bush won the state by twenty points four years ago and sixteen points in Election 2000. The current poll results are similar to Bob Dole's margin of victory in 1996. No Democrat has won the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976. In 1968, George Wallace won 63% of the vote while running as an Independent. Mississippi is currently rated as "Safely Republican" in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator .

Fifty-three percent (53%) say that if John McCain is elected in November, it is at least somewhat likely the U.S. will win the War. Twenty-six percent (26%) say victory is likely with an Obama victory. On the other hand, 52% believe a President Obama would get his troops home within a year while 42% say the same would happen with McCain as President.