One reason Clinton is struggling in Indiana and North Carolina is that women -- a mainstay of her coalition in earlier contests -- have been defecting. In Indiana, the poll found women split their vote, 35% for each candidate. In North Carolina, they favored Obama, 43% to 36%.
Looking ahead to the general election, many Democrats -- including some Clinton backers -- appear to have concluded that Obama might be in a better position to defeat McCain.
In Indiana, for instance, 37% said they thought Obama would fare better against McCain in November, compared with 18% who said Clinton was more likely to beat the Republican.
"I would prefer Clinton, but Obama has less baggage to throw darts at," said Eric Beiz, a Realtor in Indianapolis. "She is going to have a tough time."
Clinton also suffers from being seen as less admirable than Obama. Even in Pennsylvania, 47% of Democrats said he had more honesty and integrity, compared with 26% who thought that of Clinton.
"She doesn't tell the truth a lot," said Brannon Crace, a store manager in Frankfurt, Ind. "We've already been through the Clinton era."
In all three states, Clinton was seen as better-equipped to handle trade and healthcare policy. But she does not appear to have been as persuasive in making a core argument of her campaign: that she would be better-prepared to lead the nation's military and foreign policy.
Asked who would be better as commander in chief, voters in North Carolina chose Obama, 45% to 28%; in Indiana, Obama was chosen 37% to 29%. Only in Pennsylvania did voters prefer Clinton as commander in chief, 44% to 39%.
There are some ominous signs that the party will not easily unify after a long and contentious primary fight. Fully 30% of Clinton supporters in North Carolina said they would switch to McCain if Obama was the nominee (only 14% of Obama backers would defect if Clinton was the nominee).
"McCain, I like him better than Obama," said Robert D. Hawkins Jr., a disabled veteran from Lenoir, N.C., who already has voted absentee for Clinton. "He's a Vietnam veteran, and I am too. I'm still learning more things about Obama."
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janet.hook@latimes.com
Times associate polling director Jill Darling contributed to this report.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Where they stand
Democratic voters in three upcoming primary states were asked how they would vote if the elections were held today:
Indiana
