Polls Show Clark Gaining on Dean in N.H.

AP ^ | Jan. 14, 2004 | WILL LESTER (AP writer)

[jwalburg]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wesley Clark has gained significant ground on Howard Dean in polls of likely voters in New Hampshire almost two weeks before the state's Democratic presidential primary.

Dean, the former governor of Vermont, is now roughly 10 points ahead of Clark, a retired general, in two polls taken this week. Dean was 15 points ahead in a third.

Dean was 25 points ahead of Clark when American Research Group of Manchester, N.H., released the first of its tracking polls Dec. 28. Dean is now at 32 percent and Clark at 22 percent in the ARG poll released Wednesday. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was at 13 percent and others were in single digits.

A Boston Herald poll released Wednesday had Dean at 29 percent, Clark at 20 percent and Kerry at 15 percent with others in single digits. In a third poll, by WDHD-Suffolk University, Dean was at 32 percent, followed by Clark at 17 percent, Kerry at 12 percent and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman at 11 percent.

Clark has gained ground among women, particularly those over age 45, said Dick Bennett, pollster with ARG. When Bennett started tracking New Hampshire voter attitudes, Dean led among men by 30 percent to 22 percent and led among women by 43 percent to 7 percent.

Dean and Clark are running close among men now, and Dean leads among women by 36 percent to 15 percent, Bennett said.

Clark has been running ads in New Hampshire targeting women voters.

"Over the weekend, Dean's soft support has been moving away," Bennett said. "It's been consistently moving to Clark. That's been a steady process."

The ARG poll of 623 likely voters was taken Jan. 11-13 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The Herald poll of 408 likely voters was taken Jan. 11-12, and the WDHD-Suffolk poll of 400 likely voters was taken Jan. 12-13. Both of those polls had margins of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

[jwalburg]

Scary

[Kevin Curry]

Who's got the all-important gherkin-bacon-lettuce-and-toast vote?

Dean's had the GLBT vote all to himself to this point. Is Clark chaming them over?

[edwin hubble]

OK...

Look, I'd prefer Dean be a wounded and weakened candidate with a lot of baggage.

On the other hand I do really want Dean to get the nomination.

[Elle Bee]

the press still get their marching orders from the Old Guard Dems .......Clinton, et al

this stilted reporting should be a great object lession and a wake up call to repeal McCane-Finegold "reforms"