John McCain now leads Barack Obama 55% to 37% in Alabama. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Yellowhammer State finds that when “leaners” are included, the Republican leads 58% to 38%.

July’s numbers represent a slight improvement for McCain, who led 51% to 36% in June. His lead was nearly double that in May, up 60% to 32%.

McCain is viewed favorably by 61% of voters in Alabama and unfavorably by 36%. Obama’s ratings are 41% favorable, 57% unfavorable.

McCain has the support of 92% of Republicans and 9% of Democrats in Alabama. Obama is backed by 83% of Democrats and just 4% of Republicans. Among unaffiliated voters, McCain has a 62% to 21% edge.

While the Republican has a commanding 66% to 27% lead among men, the two candidates are essentially even among women.

Alabama has cast its nine Electoral College votes for the Republican candidate in eight out of the last nine elections. George W. Bush handily won the state by twenty-five points in 2004, and by fourteen points in 2000.

Rasmussen Markets data shows that McCain is currently given a 97.0% chance of winning Alabama this November. At the time this poll was released, Alabama is listed as “Safe Republican” in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator. Nationally, the candidates remain very competitive in the Daily Presidential Tracking Poll [LINK].

When it comes to the war, 67% of Alabama voters say the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, representing more optimism than voters on the national level. The plurality of voters (42%) agree with Obama that Iraq is not the “central front” of the war, while 44% give that title to Afghanistan. The plurality (42%) also believe that Afghanistan is a greater threat than Iraq to the safety of America.

Like voters nationwide, most in Alabama see the media as an advocate for their favorite candidate rather than an unbiased source of information. Eight-out-of-ten (77%) believe reporters covering elections try to help the candidate they want to win, while just 10% disagree. Fifty-nine percent (59%) name Obama as the candidate the media tries to help the most. Most voters (55%) also believe that the media portrays the nation’s current economic problems as worse than they really are. One in five voters (20%) say the media presents an accurate picture of the situation.

President George W. Bush’s approval ratings in Alabama are stronger than they are on the national level. Nearly half (47%) say the president is doing a good or excellent job, while 37% say he is doing a poor job. The President’s national approval rating is just a point above the all-time low.