(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More Americans believe the Democratic Party will not select a woman as its presidential candidate in the 2008 election, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 54 per cent of respondents think the political organization will nominate a white male for the presidency, up eight points since July.

Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, is the only woman running for president in the current campaign. Other Democratic contenders include Illinois senator Barack Obama, the son of a white mother and a black father; New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, the son of a Mexican mother; and John Edwards, who is the only white male in the party’s list of frontrunners.

During a Democratic presidential debate in July, Edwards rejected the notion of becoming an option for undecided voters due to gender or race considerations, saying, "Anybody who’s considering not voting for Senator Obama because he’s black or for Senator Clinton because she’s a woman, I don’t want their vote."

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 next presidential election is scheduled for November 2008.

Original Release from Rasmussen Reports

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