Posted on 06/23/2004 12:57:32 PM PDT by ambrose
Posted on Wed, Jun. 23, 2004
Kerry holds slim lead over Bush in N.J. poll
DONNA DE LA CRUZ
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Democratic challenger John Kerry has a slight lead over President Bush in New Jersey, a state Al Gore won by 16 percentage points in 2000, according to a poll released today.
Kerry had 46 percent and Bush 40 percent, while independent candidate Ralph Nader had 7 percent in the Quinnipiac University poll. In May, Kerry was at 46 percent and Bush at 43 percent.
The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points for the survey of 1,167 voters, taken June 15-20.
Kerry's favorability rating among those polled was still lukewarm, with 30 percent viewing him favorably and 28 percent viewing him unfavorably, said Clay Richards, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute.
"I think that's an indication that Kerry hasn't made much impact here, that the word just hasn't gone around about him," Richards said.
Thirteen percent of those polled said they did not know enough about Kerry to form an opinion about him.
When asked about Bush, 35 percent said they viewed him favorably while 40 percent viewed him unfavorably. Twenty-three percent offered no opinion.
"Our previous poll came before the (Abu Ghraib) prison scandal really hit, and his drop is partly because of the prison scandal," Richards said of Bush. "And support for the war has dropped."
Of those polled, 54 percent said they believed the war in Iraq was the wrong thing to do.
Kerry is not doing as well as he should be in a Democratic state like New Jersey, Richards said.
"There's a combination of things hurting Kerry," Richards said. "His own image problems, Nader and terrorism. There's still a lot of people who feel more protected under Bush than they would under Kerry."
New Jerseyans were heavily affected by Sept. 11, with almost 700 residents killed in the World Trade Center attacks.
Fifty percent of voters said Bush would do a better job on terrorism, compared with Kerry's 39 percent. But voters thought Kerry would do a better job than Bush on the economy, giving him a 52 percent to 40 percent lead.
In the poll, Bush and Kerry were virtually even when people were asked who would do a better job in Iraq. Bush had 46 percent of the vote to Kerry's 45 percent.
Richards added that it was not clear why Nader picked up more support. Richards said Nader was pulling votes from Kerry, but added that he doesn't think Nader will be a factor in the state come November.
.........
FYI
If it's this close in reality, Joisey is in play.
This should be fun. Kerry is going to be forced to spend $$$ where he shouldn't have to.
Here's hoping the CA polls continue to be tight.
Can you smell a landslide, anyone?
I know, I know . . . way tooooo soon.
Heh.
Next time you start thinking that, remember these:
I dont trust this people are dumb and NJ will go for Kerry
Apparently, 6 is about right. For now. But rest assured you'll hear more nationally about NC being "in play" than NJ. Heck, NJ is closer than FL, according to the latest polls.
poll ping
As a Jersey boy, I'll be STUNNED if Bush beats Kerry here. Having Kerry expend resources in Jersey when he should not have to is good enough for me. Wouldn't wan't to be thought of as greedy....
I haven't seen a poll out of your state yet where Kerry is romping over Bush. They've all been fairly close (except Rasmussen, who was way off in 2000), dating back the last several months. I've seen enough polls produce this result in NJ for me to believe it's in play--or at the very least, not a Kerry lock.
We know. Sit down.
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Kerry holds slim lead over Bush in N.J. poll (Kerry 46, Bush 40, Nader 7; [2000: Gore 56, Bush 40])
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