Washington -
US President Barack Obama's support from white voters has dropped dramatically, according to a poll published on Thursday by the Washington Post.
Obama, the first African-American to hold the highest elected office in the country, lags behind Republican Mitt Romney among white voters by 21 percentage points, the poll shows. Four years ago the difference was only 8 percentage points at this stage of the race between Obama and Senator John McCain.
Fifty-nine percent of white likely voters are for Romney, while 38 percent of white likely voters support Obama, indicating the 2012 election could be more polarised along racial lines than any presidential contest since 1988.
Obama gets overwhelming support from non-whites - 79 percent. In 2008, approximately 80 per cent of all non-whites supported Obama, including 95 per cent of black voters.
The national tracking poll was conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News. - Sapa-dpa