For the second straight weekly poll, Barack Obama holds a slight advantage over John McCain in the traditionally Republican state of North Carolina.

It’s Obama 50%, McCain 47% in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Tar Heel State voters. A week ago, Obama held a two point advantage. This change comes as Obama has opened a fairly stable lead nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

In North Carolina, Obama now leads by twelve among women while McCain leads by ten among men. Obama leads among voters under 40 while McCain is on top among older voters. McCain leads among by three among Investors while Obama is up by six among non-Investors (demographic crosstabs are available to Premium Members).

Before these last two polls, McCain had been ahead in five of the six Rasmussen Reports polls conducted this year and the two candidates were tied once. Two weeks ago, McCain held a three-point edge. In fact, the candidates have been within three points of each other in seven of the eight polls.

Obama is viewed favorably by 55%, McCain by 52%.

As for the running mates, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is viewed favorably by 50% of North Carolina voters while Delaware Senator Joe Biden earns positive reviews from 48%. Over the past week, Palin’s ratings have dropped by four points, Biden’s by five.

Forty-seven percent (47%) trust Obama more when it comes time to the economy while 46% prefer McCain. On National Security, McCain is trusted more by a 54% to 43% margin. Nationally, Obama is trusted more on economic issues and is close to McCain on national security issues.

Just 8% of North Carolina voters rate the economy as good or excellent while 57% say it’s in poor shape. Only 3% believe the economy is getting better while 84% say it is getting worse. Not surprisingly, 45% rate the economy as the most important of Election 2008. Twenty-five percent (25%) view national security issues as the highest priority.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) say that creating economic growth is more important than reducing the income gap between rich and poor. Sixty-eight percent (68%) believe creating growth is McCain’s highest priority on the economy while 59% say reducing the gap between rich and poor is Obama’s.

Rasmussen Markets data gives McCain a % chance of winning North Carolina’s Electoral College votes this fall. These results are updated on a 24/7 basis by market participants. It costs nothing to join, so add your voice to the collective wisdom.

Polling has recently been released this week for Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida,Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio,Pennsylvania,Tennessee,Texas, and Virginia.

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