Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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January 26, 2008

Polls Open in South Carolina; Democratic Senators Obama, Clinton, and
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Edwards Vie for Votes
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B0DB14:A6F02AD83191E1609B38EF2BB3FF82FD30EB2FA2E66CBB22& Barack Obama ahead
in public opinion surveys in first Democratic primary in American
South this election season Voters in the U.S. state of South Carolina
go to the polls Saturday where Democratic presidential hopefuls face
an important test in a primary election.







Barack Obama talks about women's issues during a roundtable discussion
in Columbia, South Carolina, 25 Jan 2008 Senator Barack Obama is ahead
of Senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton and former Senator
John Edwards in public opinion surveys in the first Democratic primary
in the American South this election season.

Obama, an African-American, has a strong lead among black voters in
the state, but trails both of his major opponents among white voters.

Black voters comprise about half of the eligible Democratic primary
voters in South Carolina, where the subject of race has been a
frequent topic of discussion recently.

Clinton and Obama have clashed repeatedly during the week.

Republican presidential candidates are preparing to face off in
Florida Tuesday.

Voter surveys show Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney leading the race in the country's fourth
most-populous state. McCain and Romney, along with former New York
Mayor Rudy Guliani and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, are
campaigning Saturday in Florida.

Even as the candidates focus on South Carolina and Florida, they are
also looking ahead to February 5 - called Super Tuesday - when 22 of
the 50 U.S. states hold primaries.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


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