[KJacob]

Wasn't there a point either in late 1999 or early 2000 where Bush had a huge lead?

[BobL]

"Wasn't there a point either in late 1999 or early 2000 where Bush had a huge lead?"

There was, but keep in mind that both had very high name recognition, in fact, I would bet that many of the GWB supporters back then thought it was a return to Bush-41 (the clean government part of 41, that is) that was being discussed (or at least that's what they thought W bring).

Bill Clinton was about number 10 in the fall in 1991 - because no one heard of him. Even after he picked up steam, Bush-41 held huge leads on him in early 1992. Because he still was unknown outside of Democratic circles. That always changes before an election.