McCain camp sees Clinton supporters headed their way

Hillary Clinton's core supporters appear to be hardening in their disdain for Barack Obama as he gets closer to the Democratic nomination.

Fewer than half of Clinton voters in both Indiana and North Carolina said they would vote for Obama in November, according to exit polls. Instead, most said they would vote for presumptive Republican John McCain -- or just stay home. Even though voters say that Clinton has run the more negative campaign, Obama backers are significantly more supportive of Clinton if she were to be the nominee.

Analysts say that polls in the heat of the primary campaign don't really show what will happen in November, and Obama's campaign insists that Clinton supporters will return to the fold.

Still, McCain's campaign is jumping on the numbers to argue that it will help him in a fall race against Obama. Campaign manager Rick Davis issued a lengthy, figure-filled memo today that says as many as one in five Democrats -- the vast majority of them Clinton supporters -- will defect and support McCain.

"If and when Senator Obama becomes the official nominee, Democratic Primary voters may not form a tight coalition immediately," the memo says. "Data to date suggest Democratic Primary voters will not blindly support Senator Obama."