(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a slight edge among Democratic Party supporters in the United States, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for the New York senator in a presidential primary.

Illinois senator Barack Obama is a close second with 39 per cent, followed by former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 11 per cent, and Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich.

On Jan. 15, African American leader Jesse Jackson called on the Democratic frontrunners to stop fighting each other, saying, "There should not be so much blood-letting now around the edge issues, which could become wedge issues, until there is not the strength left to coalesce after Denver and fight the big fight. (...) I remember so well in 1980 in the (Ted) Kennedy - (Jimmy) Carter primary struggle. There was so much anger and bloodletting that they could hardly embrace each other on the stage in New York City. They never recovered and they lost the campaign."

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Republican George W. Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Democratic nominee John Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Polling Data

If the 2008 Democratic presidential primary or caucus in your state were being held today, and the candidates were (the following), for whom would you vote?

Source: TNS / Washington Post / ABC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 423 likely Democratic primary voters, conducted from Jan. 9 to Jan. 12, 2008. Margin of error is 5 per cent.

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