Washington - American poor are supporting Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama over his Republican rival, John McCain, at a rate of two to one, according to a new opinion poll made public on Monday. The survey conducted by The Washington Post, the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University showed that 92 percent of African Americans chose Obama as the candidate more concerned with their problems.
Not a single black respondent said so about McCain, although one percent said "both do," The Washington Post said.
Hispanics, who had displayed ambivalence about Obama during the primary election season, also favoured him by more than 40 percentage points.
Even among low-wage white workers, Obama led McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent, according to the survey.
The poll focused on 1 350 randomly selected workers 18 to 64 years old who put in at least 30 hours a week but earned $27 000 (about R196 382) or less in 2007.