Texas governor and GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush continues to lead Democratic rival and Vice President Al Gore in a pair of influential popular vote surveys, though statistically both candidates are locked in a dead heat for the Oval Office.
With the Nov. 7 elections just weeks away,
Portrait of America’s Presidential Tracking Poll has Bush ahead today, 44 percent to 42 percent. POA analysts were quick to note, however, that the poll has a margin of error of 2 percent.
In the third-party races, Green Party nominee Ralph Nader has slipped to just 2.7 percent; Reform nominee Patrick J. Buchanan has 1.2 percent; Libertarian Harry Browne has 0.6 percent; independent John Hagelin has 0.2 percent; and Constitutional Party nominee Howard Phillips has 0.1 percent. Ten percent said they were not sure.
Both leading candidates are viewed favorably by 45 percent of voters and unfavorably by 41 percent, POA said.
Rasmussen Research conducted the telephone survey of 2,250 likely voters Sept. 24, 25 and 26. The firm said its poll has a 95 percent level of confidence.
Meanwhile, in the
Voter.com Battleground 2000 Poll, also released today, Bush leads Gore 43 percent to 40 percent. Nader received support from 3 percent while Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan was supported by 1 percent, Voter.com said. Thirteen percent of respondents remain undecided. The poll’s margin of error is 3.1 percent.
The survey is based on a rolling sample of 1,000 likely voters and is part of a series of tracking polls released each weekday between now and the Nov. 7 election. The bipartisan poll was conducted by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake of Lake, Snell, Perry, & Associates and Republican pollster Ed Goeas of the Tarrance Group.
“The tracking poll shows that support for Bush has grown steadily over the last two weeks, while support for Gore has held steady between 37 to 40 percent,” Voter.com analysts said. “Bush’s favorability ratings have risen over the same period, from 56 percent on Sept. 10 to 60 percent on Sept. 26; his unfavorable ratings remained between 31 and 33 percent over the same time period. Meanwhile, Gore’s favorability is 57 percent, the same as on Sept. 10.”
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