New York Times November 4, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 10:58 a.m. ET
More Voters Deciding Not to Support Bush
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- More than four in 10 voters nationwide say they
definitely plan to vote against President Bush next year -- more than
plan to vote for him, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The survey by Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion found that
44 percent of the voters questioned said they planned to definitely
vote against the Republican president while 38 percent said they would
support his re-election.
An April survey from the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based pollsters had found
that 40 percent of voters nationwide planned to vote for Bush while 30
percent said they would vote against him.
The latest poll also found a drop in Bush's approval rating, which has
been reflected in other recent nationwide polls. The Marist poll had
the president's approval rating at 53 percent, down from 70 percent in
its April poll.
In the new poll, voters were split on Bush's handling of postwar Iraq
and the economy.
Among Democratic voters, here was no clear choice about who should be
the party's candidate. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean led the way
with 16 percent of Democratic voters backing him followed by Sen. Joe
Lieberman of Connecticut at 12 percent and Rep. Dick Gephardt of
Missouri at 10 percent. The other Democratic contenders were all in
single digits. One in three Democratic voters said they were undecided
on who should be the party's nominee.
In theoretical matchups against the Democrats, Bush led them all.
Closest to the president -- 48 percent to 43 percent -- was Gephardt.
Marist's telephone poll of 788 registered voters was conducted Oct.
27-29 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage
points.
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press