Poll has unnamed Democrat leading Bush
March 12, 2003 | WASHINGTON (AP) - The as-yet-unnamed" Democratic presidential nominee has a slight edge over President Bush, according to the latest national Quinnipiac poll.
Almost half of those surveyed - 48 percent - said they would support the Democratic candidate, while 44 percent said they would vote for Bush. The poll of 1,232 registered voters, conducted Feb. 26-March 3, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Among those identied as independents, 46 percent favored the Democratic Party nominee while 39 percent chose the Republican president.
Bush fared better when matched head-to-head against Democratic candidates in a national poll last month, running almost 10 points ahead of some of the better known candidates such as Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt, as well as New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has said repeatedly that she is not running in 2004.
Among the Democrats questioned in the Quinnipiac poll, Clinton received the strongest support - 37 percent. That was more than the next three candidates - Gephardt, Lieberman and Kerry - combined.
Without Clinton in the race, Lieberman was at 21 percent, followed by Gephardt at 17 percent, Kerry at 12 percent and all others in single digits.
Overall, Bush's job approval was at 53 percent, with 39 percent disapproving. Only 9 percent said they were very satised" with the country's direction, while 26 percent were very dissatised."