US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton still retains advantage in the coming primaries in West Virginia and Kentucky despite calls on her to drop the race, according to a poll released yesterday.

A survey conducted by Suffolk University on May 10 and 11 found the New York senator leading her rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, by 60 percent to 24 percent, in West Virginia that is to hold its primary today.

It also found that 67 percent of Democratic voters in the state said Clinton should stay in the race, while 24 percent preferred her to quit.

Obama's favorability was relatively low, 44 percent favorable to 41 percent unfavorable, compared to Clinton, 70 percent favorable to 21 percent unfavorable, the poll showed.

Since 1960, West Virginia has voted for Democratic party in eight of the 12 general elections, indicating the state is a must-win for Democratic presidential candidate, pollers said.

"Barack Obama may have to write off West Virginia come November," said David Paleologos, Director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "If Obama can't even garner 30 percent of West Virginia Democratic Primary voters, what does that say about the West Virginia general election?"

Clinton has been pressed to terminate her campaign to be the first female president in the country after she failed to narrow the gap in the number of delegates in the May 6 primaries.

Her campaign is also compromised due to financial woe even after she lent herself over US$6 million in the past one month.

However, Clinton vowed to stay in the race until either her or Obama get 2,025 delegates needed to secure the nomination at the national convention late August.

In Kentucky, which holds its primary on May 20, Clinton was up 58 to 31 in a Herald-Leader/WKYT poll, which, however, showed that neither of the two Democrats could beat presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain.