The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Ohio shows John McCain leading Barack Obama 47% to 40%. He also leads Hillary Clinton 47% to 42%. Last month, McCain led both Democrats by six percentage points.

Former Ohio Congressman Rob Portman has been mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate for John McCain. Eleven percent (11%) of the state’s voters say they’d be more likely to support the ticket with Portman on it while 19% hold the opposite view. Republicans are evenly divided. Among unaffiliated voters, 6% would be more likely to vote for McCain with Portman on the ticket and 20% less likely.

Rasmussen Markets data shows that Democrats are currently given a % chance of winning Ohio’s twenty-one Electoral College votes this November. Expectations for Republicans are at %. Immediately prior to release of this poll, Ohio was rated as a “Toss-Up” in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator. In terms of Electoral College votes, Ohio is currently the largest of the Toss-Up states.

Nationally, the race between McCain and either Democrat remains competitive in the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll.

In the race for the Democratic nomination, race and gender issues have played a major role. In Ohio, 37% believe African-Americans face more discrimination that women. Thirty-two percent (32%) hold the opposite view. Eighteen percent (18%) have personally witnessed acts of discrimination within the past week. These figures are similar to the national average.

By a 79% to 13% margin, Ohio voters now say that relations between White and Black Americans are better than they were in the 1960s. By a 56% to 18% margin, they believe that race relations are continuing to get better.

As for the general election, McCain is viewed favorably by 53% of Buckeye State voters, Obama by 50% and Clinton by 43%.

The Democratic candidates continue to elicit stronger opinions than McCain. Obama is viewed Very Favorably by 28% and Very Unfavorably by 29%. For Clinton, those numbers are 19% Very Favorable and 31% Very Unfavorable. McCain earns Very Favorable reviews from 18% while 21% have a Very Unfavorable opinion of him.

In Ohio, as elsewhere, Obama encourages more ticket-splitting than Clinton at this point in time. With Obama as the Democratic nominee, 20% of Democrats say they would vote for McCain while 15% of Republicans say they would vote for Obama. With Clinton atop the Democratic ticket, 13% of Democrats would switch along with 9% of Republicans. Generally speaking, the number of people who say they will cross party lines decreases as the election progresses.

In Ohio, Hillary Clinton won a hard-fought Primary over Barack Obama to keep her campaign alive. However, that Primary battle appears to have left some lingering problems for the Democrats. The two polls conducted since the March 4 Primary show McCain doing better than he was in the last poll conducted before the Primary.

Forty-five percent (45%) of Ohio voters say Governor Ted Strickland is doing a good or an excellent job while just 15% say he is doing a poor job.

President Bush receives much lower grades—40% say he is doing a good or excellent job while 45% say poor.

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