Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain enjoys a 16-point lead \u201d\u201d 51 percent to 35 percent \u201d\u201d among Southern voters over rival Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, a new poll by Winthrop University and ETV shows.<\/p>\n
And, the further into the South you go, the larger McCain\u2019s lead grows, the poll of likely voters in 11 Southern states shows.<\/p>\n
Likely voters in the Deep South \u201d\u201d those in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina \u201d\u201d preferred McCain by a 25-point margin, 56 percent to 31 percent.<\/p>\n
Southern voters said what they want most in a president is honesty, experience and shared values. Southern voters rated McCain ahead of Obama in each of those categories.<\/p>\n
McCain\u2019s strongest support comes from white working-class Southerners \u201d\u201d who favor him by a 34-point margin \u201d\u201d and white evangelicals \u201d\u201d who favor the Arizonan by 54 percentage points.<\/p>\n