McCain, Gore hold leads in New Hampshire tracking poll
By Keating Holland/CNN
January 23, 2000
Web posted at: 3:15 p.m. EST (2015 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Arizona Sen. John McCain currently has a 42 percent to 33 percent advantage
over Texas Gov. George W. Bush among voters who are likely to participate in the New Hampshire
Republican primary, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup tracking poll, with
Steve Forbes at 13 percent and Alan Keyes at 7 percent.
On the Democratic side, Al Gore has a 52 percent to 43 percent edge over Bill Bradley among
likely Democratic primary voters.
One reason for McCain's lead: his favorable rating is higher than Bush's and a
majority of likely GOP primary voters say that McCain is in touch with the
average American and is someone they can trust. Three-quarters of GOP voters,
however, think that Bush has a better chance of winning in November than McCain
does.
If Forbes or Keyes do well in Iowa, they will have the advantage of
facing friendly voters in the Granite State. Forbes' favorable rating is 52 percent;
Keyes is viewed favorably by nearly as many.
As for the Democrats, Bradley's
favorable rating is higher than Gore's even though fewer Democratic voters say
they will support him. One reason: Democratic voters appear to be supporting
Gore for pragmatic reasons. They think that Gore is more likely than Bradley
to get things done in Washington, to keep the economy strong, and to win in
November.
Most think that Gore would do a better job with education than
Bradley, and by a smaller margin also prefer the Vice President's approach to
health care.
The poll is based on interviews with 457 likely Democratic primary voters and 591 likely Republican
primary voters. It was conducted January 20-22.
| Likely Voters' Choice for Nominee |
| Gore | 52% |
| Bradley | 43% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Choice for Nominee |
| McCain | 42% | Keyes | 7% |
| Bush | 33% | Hatch | 1% |
| Forbes | 13% | Bauer | 1% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Opinion of Candidates |
| | Favorable | Unfavorable |
| Bradley | 81% | 11% |
| Gore | 77% | 20% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Opinion of Candidates |
| | Favorable | Unfavorable |
| McCain | 82% | 14% |
| Bush | 69% | 27% |
| Forbes | 52% | 40% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Opinion of Candidates |
| | Favorable | Unfavorable |
| Keyes | 48% | 30% |
| Hatch | 33% | 39% |
| Bauer | 27% | 39% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Important Differences Between the Candidates on... |
| | Yes | No |
| Issues | 50% | 44% |
| Personal qualities | 42% | 54% |
Asked of likely Democratic primary voters
Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Important Differences Between the Candidates on... |
| | Yes | No |
| Issues | 54% | 41% |
| Personal qualities | 50% | 44% |
Asked of likely Republican primary voters
Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Opinion of Candidates |
| | McCain | Bush |
| In touch with people | 58% | 26% |
| Someone you trust | 50% | 26% |
| Vision for the future | 45% | 34% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Opinion of Candidates |
| | McCain | Bush |
| Can win in November | 18% | 73% |
| Can handle economy | 34% | 45% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Opinion of Candidates |
| | Gore | Bradley |
| Can win in November | 66% | 26% |
| Can get things done | 60% | 25% |
| Can handle economy | 54% | 25% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Likely Voters' Opinion of Candidates |
| | Gore | Bradley |
| In touch with people | 34% | 49% |
| Someone you trust | 34% | 39% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Who Has Best Tax Plan |
| Forbes | 33% |
| McCain | 28% |
| Bush | 23% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
| Who Has Best Plan for... |
| | Veterans | Others |
| Education | 51% | 33% |
| Health care | 44% | 40% |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
|
