Washington, Oct. 22: A Military Times poll indicates landslide support for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

While McCain has captured 68 percent of the military vote, his Democratic rival Barack Obama has 23 percent.

The Military Times, which publishes the Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times and Air Force Times, polled 80,000 subscribers from September 22 to September 29.

The non-scientific survey gathered 4,300 respondents -- all of them registered and eligible to vote.

A racial divide was immediately evident among the respondents. Nearly eight in 10 black service members chose Obama, while McCain captured 76 percent of white voters and 63 percent of Hispanic voters.

Numbers among men and women respondents were also visibly different. Men overwhelmingly said they would vote for McCain, 70 percent to 22 percent. But among women the margin was much closer: 53 percent support McCain, while 36 percent support Obama.

U. S. troops also said in the poll that they prefer McCain to handle the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- 74 percent said McCain would perform better, while just 19 percent said Obama would.

There was a racial divide on these issues, as well. Black service members said the economy was the No. 1 issue that affected their vote, and white troops said character was paramount.

The Military Times offered certain caveats for its poll, which was open only to its 80,000 subscribers. Responses were entirely voluntary and were not focused on a representative sample of the public, as scientific polls are.

The troops polled were also somewhat older than average enlisted service members and included more officers than is representative of the military as a whole.

Yet judging by the numbers, it appears that the Democratic Party has not made much inroads into the traditionally Republican military. (ANI)