Gore gains in new poll

Vice President Al Gore has managed to recapture some lost ground in
national polls following this week's third and final presidential
debate, though GOP rival and Texas Gov. George W. Bush still clings to
survey leads.

In the

Portrait of America poll, Bush still leads Gore 45 percent to 41 percent, down from 47-40 percent figures earlier this week.

"The percentages are based on 3,000 interviews, conducted Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night. Most of the interviews were conducted before Tuesday's presidential debate concluded," POA analysts said today. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 1.8 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence.

"Anything that shakes up the race has the potential to help Gore since the vice president will lose unless something changes in the next few weeks," analysts said.

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In the third party races, according to POA, the number of "undecided" voters is slipping as more Americans make a final decision as to whom they will ultimately support on election day. Green Party nominee Ralph Nader has 3.9 percent; Reform's Patrick J. Buchanan has 1.0 percent; Libertarian Harry Browne has 0.9 percent; Natural Law Party nominee John Hagelin has 0.4 percent; and Constitution Party nominee Howard Phillips has 0.1 percent. About 8 percent of voters said they were "not sure."

In POA's

Electoral College tracking survey, 239 votes are solidly or swinging towards Bush, compared to 168 for Gore. POA said 131 electoral votes are still a "toss-up;" 270 electoral votes are needed to win the White House.

Meanwhile, according to

the daily Voter.com tracking poll released this morning, the figures are the same as they have been all week; Bush holds a two-point advantage over Gore, 42 to 40 percent, which is well within the survey's margin of error of 3.1 percent.

Green Party nominee Ralph Nader received support from 5 percent and Reform Party candidate Patrick Buchanan was supported by 2 percent. Twelve percent of respondents remain undecided, analysts said.

The Voter.com poll results are based on 1,000 phone responses gathered over four nights. The Voter.com Battleground poll released today is part of a series of tracking polls published each weekday until Election Day. The survey is conducted by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake of Lake, Snell, Perry & Associates and Republican pollster Ed Goeas of the Tarrance Group.

"Gore continues to hold a slim lead over women, with 43 percent of women saying they would vote for the vice president and 39 percent for Bush," Voter.com analysts said. "And the Texas governor's lead among men remains steady, with 45 percent of males saying they would vote for Bush and 38 percent for the vice president."

Elsewhere in Election 2000 issues, "respondents indicated a four-point edge for Democrats in the battle for control of Congress," Voter.com said.

"On the 'generic ballot' question, 43 percent of the respondents said they would vote for the Democratic congressional candidate, while 39 percent said they'd support the Republican candidate," analysts found.

In a Voter.com analysis

published this morning, the death earlier this week of Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, a two-term governor running against incumbent GOP Sen. John Ashcroft for the U.S. Senate, could harm the Democrats' chances of winning control of the Senate and even the White House.

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"With Missouri out of the equation, it becomes much harder to see how Democrats net the four seats (five if Gore wins, in which case Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., would be replaced by a GOPer) necessary to take control of the upper chamber," wrote Voter.com analyst Robert Schlesinger.

"At the same time, Carnahan's death is a blow to Gore's efforts in Missouri," he said, because Democrats will lack the energy and enthusiasm to push for a victory.

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