Race Could Dominate Contest in West Virginia

ByABC News
September 13, 2008, 11:52 AM

— -- In the Mountain State where coal mining once ruled -- race could play a bigger factor in the presidential election than in any other state. West Virginia has been ranked by the US Census Bureau as one of the five least racially diverse states in the country and it's clear that race played a factor in the May Democratic primary.

In the contest, Hillary Clinton solidly defeated Barack Obama by one of her widest margins of victory in the primary season winning 67 percent of the vote to Obama's 26 percent.

According to exit polls, two in ten whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote. This could spell trouble for Obama -- as only 31 percent of those voters said they'd support Obama over John McCain. McCain beat out Huckabee and Romney in the primary but came in third in the state's February Caucus.

West Virginia has voted for a Democratic candidate for President 20 out of the last 36 times, but ABC News has the state leaning Republican this election. However the mountain state could very well be up for grabs and prove to be a key swing state in this contest.