Thursday, October 02, 2008

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The presidential race in Kentucky remains stable this month. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds John McCain leading Barack Obama 52% to 42%.

This is the second straight month McCain has held a ten percentage point lead over the Democrat. In June, McCain had a sixteen point lead.

McCain is viewed favorably by 63% of Kentucky voters, Obama by 49%.

Ratings are slightly less favorable for their running mates, who will face off tonight in the first and only Vice Presidential debate. Joe Biden is viewed favorably by 46% and unfavorably by 50%. Sarah Palin’s ratings are 56% favorable, 42% unfavorable.

Obama leads McCain 49% to 40% among unaffiliated voters in Kentucky, but McCain picks up 28% of Democrats in the state and leads by nineteen points among white voters in Kentucky. Obama is overwhelmingly supported by black voters, 98% to 2%. (Premium Members can view full demographic crosstabs).

Nationally, Obama has pulled ahead of McCain over the past week in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).

Though his party has been criticized in the midst of the current economic crisis, McCain is still trusted more than Obama by Kentucky voters when it comes to the economy by a 49% to 42% margin. Voters favor policy that focuses on promoting economic growth rather than reducing the gap between rich and poor, and think McCain shares that view by a 65% to 15%. Most voters in Kentucky (58%) believe Obama takes the opposite view, and thinks reducing the income gap is a more important goal.

Just 8% of Kentucky voters give the economy good or excellent ratings, while 58% rate it as poor. Additionally, just 4% say the economy is getting better, while 84% believe it is only getting worse.

Investors, who make up 59% of Kentucky voters, favor McCain by a 63% to 55% margin.

Today, Rasmussen Reports released new poll results for North Carolina, New Mexico, Montana, Kentucky and Nebraska.

Last night, results were released from Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Other polling has recently been released for Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Demographic crosstabs for all state polling are available for Premium Members. Learn More.

Rasmussen Markets data shows that McCain is given a % chance of winning Kentucky in November. The state is classified as “Safely Republican” in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator.

President Bush earns good or excellent ratings from 31% of voters, while 44% rate his job performance as poor.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available for Premium Members only.