The New Nation - Internet Edition

Bloomberg.com

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton among the party's likely voters in Mississippi while Clinton is ahead in Pennsylvania, new polls showed.

Obama, an Illinois senator, is backed by 53 percent of Mississippi Democrats compared with 39 percent for Clinton, a New York senator, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll. A separate American Research Group Inc. poll showed 58 percent of Mississippi voters back Obama compared with 34 percent for Clinton.

In Pennsylvania, 52 percent of Pennsylvania voters now support Clinton compared with 37 percent for Obama, a Rasmussen poll found. American Research had Clinton with 52 percent and Obama with 41 percent in Pennsylvania. Obama beat Clinton in yesterday's Wyoming caucuses. Tension between the two rivals increased after Clinton won March 4 primaries in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. The next Democratic votes will be in Mississippi March 11, followed by Pennsylvania on April 22.

Rasmussen Reports surveyed 816 likely Democratic primary voters in Mississippi and 690 in Pennsylvania. The separate telephone polls were conducted March 5 and each has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The American Research telephone surveys were conducted March 5-6 in Mississippi and March 7-8 in Pennsylvania. Both included 600 of each state's likely Democratic voters and have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.