Clinton lead slips in Pennsylvania, poll finds

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination among the party's Pennsylvania voters has narrowed, according to a new poll published on Thursday.

Clinton's lead has slipped to 12 percentage points from 20 in January, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall College poll. She now leads Obama by 44 percent to 32 percent ahead of the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.

Among registered Democrats, Obama's favorable rating rose to 57 percent from 51 percent last month while Clinton's edged down one point to 62 percent. There was a similar pattern among all registered voters, with those favoring Obama rising five points to 46 percent, while Clinton edged up a point to 41 percent.

Terry Madonna, professor of public affairs at Franklin & Marshall, said the latest poll reflects a national surge in support for Obama which has seen the U.S. senator from Illinois win the last 10 state primaries.

He said Clinton, a New York senator, is still likely to win Pennsylvania -- a key prize with 103 Democratic convention delegates up for grabs -- because of its "Reagan Democrats," who are typically less well-educated union members who may be workers in older industries such as steel and coal.

"She is still the front runner but I think Pennsylvania will be competitive and it is not out of the question that (Obama) could carry it," he said.

Clinton leads Obama among women, whites, people over 55 and those with high school or less education. She is also favored by those earning less than $75,000 a year. Obama is more popular among nonwhites and people with a college degree, the poll found.

(Reporting by Jon Hurdle, editing by Michelle Nichols and David Wiessler)