SUSA Poll Shows Kentucky Still Red

A new SurveyUSA poll shows that regardless of which Democrat gets the presidential nomination, Kentucky prefers McCain.

The poll, linked by RedState, finds that at this point, Barack Obama would beat John McCain, by 280 to 258 electoral votes. If Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, she would beat McCain by 276 to 262 electoral votes.

Kentucky, however, falls in McCain's column. In a match-up against Obama, McCain would win 54 to 33 percent of the vote. McCain likewise would beat Clinton by 50 to 41 percent of the Kentucky vote.

With months to go, those numbers undoubtedly will change. But for now, the presidential race -- against either Obama or Clinton --looks close in the electoral college. It is far from over for McCain.

In Kentucky, it's not so close; McCain enjoys a comfortable lead against both Obama and Clinton. That's significant not so much for Kentucky's eight electoral votes but rather for what McCain's coat tails can do to help GOP congressional candidates like Anne Northup.

Those Kentucky Super-delegates confront a dilemma. Obama is the weaker Democratic candidate in this commonwealth although the stronger candidate nationally. A Super-delegate like John Yarmuth -- who faces his own close election -- really has a conflict of interest on whom to support. If he wants to keep his job, Clinton is more likely to give him a coat-tail assist. Obama, on the other hand, has a better chance of winning the White House. Yarmuth already has endorsed Obama, but those Super-delegates have been known to switch donkeys.