Pennsylvania: One in five Dems will vote for McCain if their candidate fails to win nomination

Sure it's one state, but Pennsylvania, although it leans Democratic, can be rightly called a bell whether state. And the Keystone State offers some bad news for the Democrats in a Franklin & Marshall College poll.

From Jack Tapper's ABC News Political Punch blog:

Clinton leads Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, 51% to 35% -- increasing her lead from February, when she was up 44% to 37%. She leads among young voters, wealthier voters...voters in virtually every demographic group, with the exceptions of Philly voters and non-whites.

In a sign of just how divisive and ugly the Democratic fight has gotten, only 53% of Clinton voters say they'll vote for Obama should he become the nominee. Nineteen percent say they'll go for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and 13% say they won't vote.

Sixty percent of Obama voters say they'll go for Clinton should she win the nomination, with 20% opting for McCain, and three percent saying they won't vote.

Grim.

Pennsylvania is the nation's sixth most populous state. It's hard to envision the Democrats winning the general election if they can't retain Pennsylvania, which hasn't been won by a Republican since 1988.

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