Gore struggles in backyard

By Jon Dougherty

While attempting to woo voters nationwide in advance of the Nov. 7 presidential election, Vice President Al Gore, slated for nomination by the Democratic Party as its standard-bearer at the Los Angeles convention tomorrow, is having trouble connecting with voters in his home state of Tennessee.

According to a survey completed by

Portrait of America,
Gore is running neck-and-neck with GOP opponent George W. Bush in that key southern state, trailing Bush by a single percent.


The Aug. 12 poll,
POA analysts said, showed 45 percent of likely voters favoring Bush while 44 percent said they favored Gore.

“The state has been too close to call throughout the election season,” POA said. The online polling center has been conducting voter surveys in all states throughout the year.

“While the vice president benefits from the hometown advantage, he is seen as more liberal than the voters,” analysts said. “Just 14 percent of Tennessee voters describe themselves as somewhat liberal or very liberal. However, 39 percent describe Gore in this manner.”

Meanwhile, analysts said 67 percent of likely Tennessee voters call themselves politically moderate or somewhat conservative — “effectively the political center in America today,” POA said.

At the same time, only 44 percent view Gore as a political centrist.

Rasmussen Research conducted this telephone survey of 655 likely voters Aug. 13. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points, with a 95 percent level of confidence.

The survey also measured support in the state for other moderate party candidates, including the Green Party’s Ralph Nader — widely seen as capable of taking support away from Gore rather than Bush — Reform’s Patrick J. Buchanan and Libertarian Harry Browne.

Analysts also measured Tennessee voters’ favorable opinions of both Gore and Bush, as well as how many considered the Texas governor to be a political centrist.

Jon Dougherty

Jon E. Dougherty is a Missouri-based political science major, author, writer and columnist. Follow him on Twitter. Read more of Jon Dougherty's articles here.