White voters in West Virginia are not sold on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has a huge lead in the state.

According to the Democratic West Virginia poll by Suffolk University:

Respondents said Clinton should stay in the primary fight and that she is not hurting the Democratic Party by staying in the race. Sixty-seven percent of likely Democratic voters said Clinton should stay in the race, regardless of what happens on Tuesday, and 24 percent said she should get out. Seventy-two percent said she is not hurting the Democratic Party by running in the remaining primaries, while 20 percent said she is doing the party harm.

Obama’s favorability (44 percent favorable — 41 percent unfavorable) was relatively low, compared to Clinton (70 percent favorable — 21 percent unfavorable).

West Virginia has voted Democratic in eight of the last 12 general elections, dating back to 1960, but these findings could indicate difficulties for Obama in 2008.

“Barack Obama may have to write off West Virginia come November,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “In 2000, Al Gore won seventy-two percent of West Virginia Democratic Primary voters and lost the state’s general election to George Bush by six percent; in 2004, John Kerry won sixty-nine percent of West Virginia Democratic Primary voters and lost the state’s general election to George Bush by thirteen percent. If Barack Obama can’t even garner thirty percent of West Virginia Democratic Primary voters, what does that say about the West Virginia general election?”