Over the past few days, Hillary Clinton has closed the gap in South Carolina’s Presidential Primary and pulled to within five points of Barack Obama. Last week, Obama was leading by twelve.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in South Carolina shows Obama earning 38% of the vote, Clinton attracting 33%, and John Edwards at 17%.

While Obama’s lead has slipped, his support is more solid than Clinton’s at this point in time. Eighty-two percent (82%) of Obama supporters say they are “certain” they will vote for him on January 26. Just 67% of Clinton voters are that “certain” along with 65% of those currently supporting Edwards.

Among white voters, Clinton leads Obama 40% to 21% with John Edwards picking up 31% of the vote. Among African-American voters, Obama leads Clinton by 23 percentage points (see crosstabs). This racial divide is also found in national polling.

Clinton leads Obama by three points among women in South Carolina but trails by sixteen among men.

In December, Obama and Clinton were tied in South Carolina at 33%. In November, Clinton had a ten-point advantage.

Eighty percent (80%) have a favorable opinion of Clinton, 77% say the same about Obama, Clinton, and 74% offer a positive assessment of Edwards.

Among African-American voters, 86% have a favorable opinion of Obama while 82% say the same about Clinton. At the same time, 78% of white voters offer a favorable assessment of Clinton. Just 66% of white voters say the same about Obama. In South Carolina, roughly half of the Democratic voters are expected to be African-American.

Among those who currently plan to vote for John Edwards, 68% have a favorable opinion of Clinton while 56% say the same about Obama.

On the Republican side of the aisle, John McCain received a significant bounce from his victory in New Hampshire and now holds a narrow lead in South Carolina’s GOP Primary.

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