WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — Democratic activist and actor Alec Baldwin believes race has a part to do with this year’s close presidential election.

Taking to his Alec Baldwin Foundation Twitter account, Baldwin wrote that President Obama would have a commanding lead if he wasn’t black.

“If Obama was white, he’d be up by 17 points,” Baldwin tweeted.

Last week, Baldwin tweeted “Romney will continue the GOP legacy of crippling less powerful Americans in order to elevate rich, white, heterosexual, Christian males” if elected.

The “30 Rock” star has deactivated his Twitter account several times, including after he got kicked off a flight before takeoff for playing with “Words With Friends” on his phone and more recently after getting into an altercation with a photographer outside his New York City home.

A recent Gallup poll shows Obama with a 47 to 46 percent lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney.