GOP presidential nominee and Texas Gov. George W. Bush has widened his lead slightly over rival Democratic nominee Al Gore in the
latest popular vote poll by Portrait of America.
The results, released today, show Bush up 43.1 percent to Gore's 40.9 percent, as the third-party candidates continue to founder far behind the leaders.
Green Party nominee Ralph Nader, considered to be Gore's biggest vote threat in some states, still leads third-party contenders with 3.5 percent. Reform Party nominee Patrick J. Buchanan and Libertarian candidate Harry Browne are now tied with 1.2 percent each. Independent John Hagelin has 0.2 percent, while Constitution Party nominee Howard Phillips fell to 0.1 percent.
The POA survey reflects telephone interviews with 2,250 likely voters and was conducted Sept. 18, 19 and 20. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points, with a 95 percent level of confidence.
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Vice President Gore is campaigning in Maryland today and heralding his proposals to combat high domestic oil and energy prices that are set to hit East Coast households the hardest again this year. Last year, heating oil prices rose during winter months in the northeast, but government analysts predict those prices will be one-third higher this winter as heating oil stocks have fallen dramatically.
Gore, in his proposals, will call on Congress to release $400 million in emergency funding to help low-income families pay heating bills. The Democratic nominee is also planning to push President Clinton into releasing hundreds of millions of gallons of oil from the nation's Strategic Oil Reserves to help lower prices by increasing domestic production and availability.
The vice president has also stepped up his attacks against big oil companies, accusing them of "profiteering" and contributing to current high gas and oil prices.
Market and industry analysts said oil company profits are up by two-thirds over this period last year
Bush, who was asked yesterday about his plans for domestic energy, told reporters if elected he would "use the diplomatic leverage" of the United States government to force OPEC to further increase oil production for the U.S. while expanding oil exploration and production here at home.
Specifically, Bush said he would likely approve drilling and exploration in a currently federally protected Alaskan region believed to contain 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The land is currently off-limits to oil exploration, and further development is opposed by environmentalist groups who side with Gore on the issue.
Bush, his running mate, Dick Cheney, and leading Republicans have criticized the Clinton administration for poor domestic energy policies. The have also said Clinton and Gore, who are pushing for a strategic reserve release this year, are only seeking to score political points for the vice president in advance of the Nov. 7 election.
Last year, Republicans said, not only didn't the administration consider cutting federal gas and heating oil taxes to help lower prices, but it also did not seriously consider releasing oil from the nation's reserves, which, they added, was a short-term solution at best.
Experts have said the nation has only about a 58-day supply of oil in reserve. Heating oil stocks are currently being replenished by the administration, which is seeking to build a 2-million gallon supply before winter. About 500,000 gallons have been stockpiled already, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson said yesterday.
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