With little more than three months before the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has pulled away from the Democratic pack in his New England back yard.
The newest poll by Zogby International shows Dean steaming past his closest challenger among New Hampshire voters by 23 points. According to the survey of 500 likely primary voters, Dean earned 40 percent to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s 17 percent.
 Howard Dean |
Since February, Dean has fairly consistently scored at least 10 points more than Kerry in Zogby polling.
Dean, who has unveiled attack ads in Iowa and New Hampshire, leaves all other Democratic rivals in the dust as none exceeded single digits in the polling.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards are tied for third with 6 percent apiece.
Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt placed a distant fourth, earning 4 percent, followed by Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman at 3 percent.
Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, former Illinois Sen. Carol Mosley Braun, and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich each received less than one percent.
The margin of error with the Zogby poll is +/- 4.5 percent.
Dean’s anti-Iraq war stance appears to factor into his lead. A plurality of respondents, or 43 percent, say they would back a candidate who opposed the war in Iraq, while 33 percent said they would favor one who supported the war.
With the Jan. 27, 2004 Granite State primary looming, 19 percent of voters remain undecided on which candidate to support. While 67 percent say they’re satisfied with the current field of Democratic candidates, 28 percent wish other candidates were running.
A full 60 percent polled say that regardless of how they intend to vote, it is somewhat or very likely that President George W. Bush will be re-elected. This is said grudgingly as 78 percent rated his job performance as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ and 43 percent admitted they dislike him.
One in five, or 22 percent, of the Democrats and Independents polled think Bush is doing an “excellent” or “good” job.
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WND Staff