Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is presently in the state from where she needs to win 70 percent of victories in most of the big or small remaining states, if she is to surpass Sen. Barack Obama in the race for delegates.

Rhode Island is a small state with only 21 Democratic delegates at stake, but it could become very crucial, when the lead shown by the latest poll is not big enough. Thus, both Clinton and Obama camps are putting a significant amount of energy campaigning in the state.

Since Rhode Island's largely white, working-class, union-heavy population had supported her in the past contests, the New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was fancying a good chance of big win in Rhode Island, but a recent poll conducted by Brown University has shown that Clinton is only leading Obama by a margin of 8 percentage points.

Released by Professor of Political Science Darrell West and the Taubman Center for Public Policy, the latest poll says, "if the primary were held today, 36 percent of the 474 voters (would) vote for Hillary Clinton, (and) 28 percent (would) support Barack Obama."

West said, "An eight-point lead with three weeks to go should not make anyone feel comfortable."

Setting the ground for a tight contest furthermore, the former Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee endorsed Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Thursday last week. Chafee name is gold in Rhode Island and the Chafees are considered one of the state's leading political families. Chafee's father, John, served as both the Rhode Island governor and longtime U.S. Senator.

Chafee said, "I believe Senator Obama is the best candidate to restore American credibility, to restore our confidence, to be moral and just, and to bring people together to solve the complex issues such as the economy, the environment and global stability."

Darrell West told that the poll sampled 739 registered voters in Rhode Island, and sub-sampled 474 probable Democratic voters. These statistics contrasted with those taken in September, when Clinton had a lead of 19 percentage points over Obama.

West said, "Rhode Island is a state where the Clintons have always done well. The demographics here are good for them, but the recent trend shows that Rhody is tightening."

Rhode Island poll shows that Clinton continues to lead in the Ocean State, but Obama is gaining ground.

It was telephone poll conducted Feb. 9-10 by the Brown University. The poll was based on a statewide random sample of 474 voters who indicated they were very likely to participate in the state's March 4 primary. The margin of sampling error was about plus or minus 5 percentage points.