Barack Obama has caught up with John McCain in the Tar Heel State. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that both Obama and McCain attract 47% of the North Carolina vote in an early look at the race. Three percent (3%) say they would prefer a third-party option and 3% are undecided.

A month ago, McCain led Obama by nine percentage points. The current survey was completed before Obama’s remarks about small-town voters made headlines.

McCain leads Hillary Clinton 51% to 40%. In that match-up, 6% say they would vote for a third party option while 3% are undecided. McCain held a sixteen point advantage over Clinton in March.

Rasmussen Markets shows that Republicans are currently given a % chance of winning North Carolina’s fifteen Electoral College Votes this fall. George W. Bush won the state by twelve points in 2004 and by thirteen points four years earlier. Immediately prior to release of this poll, North Carolina was rated as “Likely Republican” in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator. Balance of Power projections indicate that the Electoral College scoreboard is a toss-up at this time.

Obama retains a huge lead over Clinton in the North Carolina Presidential Primary. It is interesting to note that Obama and Clinton have both gained ground on McCain in the state while campaigning for the Primary. The same trend has been found in Pennsylvania. In earlier states, such as Ohio McCain gained ground while the Democrats’ fought out their Primary battle.

Perceptions of both Democrats has improved over the past month. Obama is now viewed favorably by 54% of Tar Heel voters, Clinton by 43%. Compared to a month ago, those figures reflect a six-point gain for Obama and a five-point gain for Clinton.

At 59%, McCain’s favorable rating still tops both Democrats. However, that figure has slipped three percentage points over the past month.

Nationally, McCain leads both Democrats in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. His favorable ratings are a couple of points higher than either Democrat among voters nationwide.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who runs negative ads. However, voters define negative ads differently than most politicians. In fact, 56% say that a campaign commercial accurately describing the position of an opposing candidate is not a negative ad. Only 22% say such an approach reflects negative advertising.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of voters in North Carolina say that relations between Black and White Americans are better now than in the 1960s. Nine percent (9%) disagree. Fifty-six percent (56%) say race relations are continuing to improve while 15% disagree. Twenty-three percent (23%) say they have personally witnessed discrimination with the past week.

Forty-one percent (41%) say that African-Americans suffer more discrimination than women. Twenty-five percent (25%) take the opposite view. Nationally, opinion is a bit more evenly divided on that question.

George W. Bush won 56% of the vote in North Carolina during Election 2004. Today, less than four years later, just 33% say the President is doing a good or an excellent job. Forty-seven percent (47%) say he is doing a poor job.

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