Senator Barack Obama speaks at Fayetteville Technical Community College in Fayetteville, N.C., 19 Mar 2008

A new opinion survey shows Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama continues to maintain solid support among voters, while opponent Hillary Clinton has seen a drop in her popularity.

The survey by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News shows the two rivals in a dead heat at 45 percent support from registered Democrats.

The poll indicates Obama, an Illinois senator, with a positive personal rating of 49 percent, down from 51 percent from two weeks ago.

It shows Clinton with a 37 percent positive personal rating, her lowest rating in the poll since 2001.

The survey shows Clinton and Obama are virtually tied against Arizona Senator John McCain, the likely Republican Party nominee.

Among blacks, 77 percent said they were satisfied with Obama's explanation of his association with his long-time pastor, who is seen in videos of his sermons making controversial remarks.  Fifty-one percent of white voters surveyed said they were satisfied.

Video of Reverend Jeremiah Wright show him angrily denouncing the United States over racism and its foreign policies.  Obama later criticized Wright and called on Americans to engage in an honest dialogue about race relations.

The survey of 700 adults had a margin of error of 3.7 percent.