PPP Poll: Clinton Catches Obama in North Carolina

NOT GOOD!

The latest Public Policy Polling survey in North Carolina shows Sen. Barack Obama barely edging Sen. Hillary Clinton, 44% to 43%.

Clinton actually leads among Democrats in the poll, 44% to 43%. But Obama has the overall lead based on a very strong performance with unaffiliated voters, with whom he has a 53% to 35% advantage.

Key observation: "The rules for voting in the North Carolina primary probably work to Clinton's advantage. Obama has done very well in states with open primaries because of his strong support from Republican and independent voters. But North Carolina has a closed primary with the exception of unaffiliated voters, who may choose which party's ballot they want to cast. Right now they're only making up 12% of the Democratic primary electorate."