WASHINGTON -- In Western Maryland's Allegany County, where Barack Obama got less than one-third of the vote in the state's Feb. 12 Democratic primary, Bill DuVall knows his neighbors harbor misgivings about the man who appears likely to be the party's presidential nominee. "A lot of the talk I have heard hasn't been positive," said DuVall, business agent for a carpenters' union and chairman of the county Democratic Central Committee.
Democrats in Western Maryland share the same Appalachian terrain, economy and political sensibilities as their counterparts in nearby states, which Obama lost to Hillary Clinton.
"We can almost throw a rock into Pennsylvania or West Virginia," said DuVall, referring to places where Obama's efforts to woo white working-class voters have yielded limited results.
As Obama moves within reach of the Democratic nomination, the Illinois senator faces the challenge of a general election that will hinge in part on his ability to suture intra-party rifts exposed by the primaries.
The task is especially critical in swing states considered most important in the fall, but will also play out in places such as Maryland, where the November outcome does not appear to be in doubt.
A similar effort is under way on the Republican side, where religious conservatives and immigration foes have yet to fully embrace the candidacy of the man who will head the ticket in the fall, John McCain.
The fight between Obama and Clinton exposed much-discussed divides among Democrats. Blacks and better-educated, higher-earning voters support Obama, exit polls in state after state showed, while those with lower education levels and incomes backed Clinton.
The divisions were on display during last week's primaries. In Indiana, for example, six of 10 white voters backed Clinton, while nearly 9 in 10 blacks supported Obama, according to a national exit poll.
More than one in five voters in Indiana's Republican primary chose someone other than McCain, an indication of the discontent that his candidacy still faces in some quarters.
Some of those fissures were evident in Maryland's primary back in the winter. But they are expected to heal quickly, with no lasting impact, political veterans say. As a result, Maryland is expected to stay in the Democratic column in the fall.
While Obama carried Maryland in a landslide - his best showing in a state with a closed primary, supporters note - Hillary Clinton won in 7 of 24 counties.
