Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, is greeted by a supporter during a rally at the Genoa Park and Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio. - AP

PITTSBURGH (AP):

A veteran congressman says his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce fellow Democrat Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by four percentage points.

Republican John Murtha told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in a story posted yesterday on its website that, as he put it: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area."

Finally convinced

He said it's taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to liking the Democratic presidential candidate, who is aiming to become the first black United States president, but he should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's website, Murtha says Obama has a problem with the race issue in western Pennsylvania that could shave four points off his lead in the state.