Some pundits have recently floated the possibility of Al Gore as a compromise nominee to end the Obama-Clinton struggle. However, when Rasmussen Reports asked Democratic Primary Voters about a three-way race including Gore, the former Vice President attracted less support than both Obama and Clinton. The national telephone survey of 423 Likely Democratic Primary Voters shows Obama attracting 42% support while Clinton earns 26% and Gore is the top choice for 23%.

Among White Male voters, Obama leads Gore 40% to 33% while Clinton trails with just 18% support.

Among White Women, it’s Clinton 37%, Obama 30%, and Gore 25%.

Among African-American voters, it’s Obama at 70%, Clinton with 14%, and Gore barely registering at 5%.

The survey also found that 41% believe that Obama would be the strongest general election candidate against John McCain. Twenty-six percent (26%) say that Gore would be the strongest candidate while 23% named Clinton.

Among White Women, 32% say Obama is the strongest general election candidate. Just 29% name Clinton and 26% say Gore would be the best.

From the opposite perspective, 36% said Clinton would be the weakest general election candidate. Twenty-nine percent (29%) named Gore as the weakest and just 19% said that description applies to Obama.

Just 4% believe it is Very Likely that Gore will emerge as the nominee of the Democratic Party. Another 9% say that outcome is Somewhat Likely.

Nationally, the two-way race between Obama and Clinton remains very close in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. A separate survey released earlier this week found that 62% of Democrats don’t think it is time for either leading candidate to drop out of the race.

While Democrats may not want Gore as their nominee in 2008, he remains well-liked within the party—76% of Likely Democratic Primary Voters have a favorable opinion of him.

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