THE RACE: The presidential race for Democrats in North Carolina

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THE NUMBERS:

Barack Obama, 49 percent

Hillary Rodham Clinton, 42 percent

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OF INTEREST:

Obama maintains his edge over Clinton in North Carolina, a state he was widely expected to win coming out of the Pennsylvania primary. Obama leads Clinton 63-26 among voters under age 35, while Clinton has a 47-45 edge among voters over 50. He has the support of 87 percent of black voters, while Clinton leads among whites with 62 percent. By party registration, Obama led 48 percent to 43 percent among Democrats and 55-38 among independent or unaffiliated voters. Fifty-five percent said they were looking most for a candidate who “represents change and a new approach,” while 36 percent said they wanted someone who “has the right experience.” The poll was conducted as news broke that Gov. Mike Easley would endorse Clinton.

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The Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. poll was conducted April 28-29 for WRAL-TV in Raleigh and WBTV in Charlotte. It included interviews with 400 likely Democratic primary voters, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.