Kentuckians and voters in three other states go to the polls next.

Who's in the lead and who has the best chances of winning the White House?

Kentucky appears to be going against the tide when it comes to the Democratic Presidential race.

Our exclusive Kentucky poll found John McCain in a strong position in the Bluegrass State.

The Kentucky poll conducted by WBKO and the Lexington Herald-Leader since last Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina and Indiana finds a strong lead for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama.

We interviewed 500 likely Democratic voters.

58-percent say if the election were now they would vote for Clinton.

31-percent say they would vote for Obama.

Question: If the Democratic Primary for President were held today, which of the following candidates would you vote for?

All Men Women White Black Other

Hillary Clinton 58% 56% 60% 62% 16% 69%

Barack Obama 31% 32% 30% 27% 78% 14%

Other 6% 9% 3% 7% -- --

Undecided 5% 3% 7% 4% 6% 17%

Clinton leads among men and women, with 60-percent of women saying they support Clinton.

Joe Gershtenson of Eastern Kentucky University's Center for Kentucky Politics, says the Clinton advantage is significant.

He says, "she enjoys the Clinton legacy. Her husband was a popular man in the Commonwealth. We voted for him twice. He had high approvals here. She's got that going, and the demographics of the state work in her favor."

Very Favorable Favorable Unfavorable Very Unfavorable No Opinion

Hillary Clinton 24% 37% 21% 12% 6%

Barack Obama 21% 33% 23% 13% 10%

We also wanted to know the early landscape for the fall.

32-percent of Clinton supporters indicate they would vote for Republican John McCain, if she's not the Democratic nominee.

19-percent of Obama's supporters indicate they would defect to McCain.

In a separate sample of 600 likely voters, including Republicans, Democrats and Independents, John McCain has an early advantage.

It wouldn't matter who the democrat's select, the poll found McCain would beat both Clinton by 12 points and Obama by 25 points in November.

Question: If the election for President were held today, who would you vote for if the choice were between Hillary Clinton, the Democrat, and John McCain, the Republican?

McCain Clinton Undecided

ALL 53% 41% 6%

MEN 57% 38% 5%

WOMEN 49% 44% 7%

DEMOCRATS 23% 72% 5%

REPUBLICANS 87% 6% 7%

OTHER 59% 35% 6%

WHITE 59% 37% 4%

BLACK 4% 67% 29%

OTHER 9% 77% 14%

18-29 49% 44% 7%

30-44 56% 37% 7%

45-59 50% 46% 4%

60+ 58% 36% 6%

Question: If the election for President were held today, who would you vote for if the choice were between Barack Obama, the Democrat, and John McCain, the Republican?

McCain Obama Undecided

ALL 58% 33% 9%

MEN 62% 30% 8%

WOMEN 54% 36% 10%

DEMOCRATS 30% 61% 9%

REPUBLICANS 88% 4% 8%

OTHER 65% 24% 11%

WHITE 64% 28% 8%

BLACK 4% 82% 14%

OTHER 12% 66% 22%

18-29 51% 37% 12%

30-44 62% 30% 8%

45-59 56% 36% 8%

60+ 63% 29% 8%

WBKO/Lexington Herald-Leader Kentucky Poll

Kentucky is the nation's second best bellwether state with a perfect record of picking the winner in Presidential elections since 1964.

Only Missouri has a slightly longer streak than that.

In the days ahead, we'll look at Kentucky's U.S. Senate race and at the approval ratings of the Governor and the Legislature.

Click to see another WBKO / Lexington Herald Leader poll story!