Tracking poll: Bush, Gore neck-and-neck out of the gate

By Keating Holland/CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush are neck-and-neck at the outset of a daily presidential CNN/USA Today/Gallup tracking poll.

CNN will be releasing the results of its tracking polls, which monitor public opinion of the presidential race over two- to three-day intervals, every day until the November 7 elections.

In the poll conducted September 4-6, Gore appears to have a slight edge among the poll's 1,259 respondents, including 777 likely voters. Among the likely voters, 47 percent said they plan to vote for Gore, the Democratic nominee for president, while 44 percent said they plan to cast ballots for GOP nominee Bush. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll has a margin of plus or minus four percentage points, meaning the two are in a statistical dead heat.

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Tracking Poll

September 4-6

Likely voters' choice for president:

          Now   August 24-27 


Gore      47%       45% 

Bush      44        46 

Nader      3         3 

Buchanan   *         1 

Sampling error: +/-4% pts 

Buchanan's asterisk means that he wins support from less than one-half of one percent of the vote.

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Tracking Poll

September 4-6

Likely voters' choice for Congress:

Democratic      46% 

Republican      46 

Sampling error: +/-4% pts 

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Tracking Poll

September 4-6

Has the candidate gone too far in criticizing his opponent?

           Gore    Bush 


Yes          26%     34% 

No           60      53 

Sampling error: +/-3% pts 

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Tracking Poll

September 4-6

Who is likely to do a better job in debates?

Gore      44% 

Bush      36 

Sampling error: +/-3% pts 

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Tracking Poll

September 4-6

Do debates make much difference to you?

Yes       26% 

No        71 

Sampling error: +/-3% pts