“Seven in 10 whites overall backed Clinton in Kentucky, including about three quarters of those who have not completed college. That made Tuesday’s contest one of her stronger performances yet with those blue-collar white voters – little surprise considering Kentucky has one of the country’s highest proportions of people who are not college graduates.
In addition, only about four in 10 working-class whites in Kentucky said they would vote for Obama in a matchup with John McCain in the general election. About an equal number said they would support the Republican, and the rest said they would not vote.
It was not just the voters’ race, but their racial attitudes, that proved influential.
About one in five whites said race played a role in choosing a candidate Tuesday – on par with results in several other Southern states. Nine in 10 of that group backed Clinton – the highest proportion yet among the 28 states where that question has been asked in exit polls.
Only three in 10 whites who said race was a factor said they would vote for Obama should he oppose McCain in November. Nearly four in 10 said they would back McCain, while the rest said they wouldn’t vote.”
By ALAN FRAM (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
May 20, 2008 6:12 PM EDT