March 28, 2008

In an unpredictable political year, here is something else I did not expect.

A new Gallup poll has discovered that a sizable portion of democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the democratic nomination. The poll found this is particularly true for Hillary Clinton supporters, more than one-quarter of whom say they would vote for McCain if Barak Obama is their party’s nominee.

This is astounding, but it shows the bitterness that has infected the democratic race and why that bitterness could last all the way until the fall election.

According to Gallup, almost all democratic voters who support Obama also say they would vote for him against McCain. But only 59 percent of democrats who support Clinton say they would vote for Obama against McCain. This suggests some Clinton supporters are so strongly opposed to Obama (or so loyal to Clinton) they would go so far as to vote republican if Obama is the democratic nominee. This is fascinating stuff. Stay tuned for more.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.