New Knight Ridder/MSNBC Poll Results Reveal that Bush Leads in Five Key Swing States Plurality of Voters in States That Voted for Bush in 2000 - Missouri, Arizona, New Hampshire, Ohio, West Virginia - Approve of His Overall Job as President SAN JOSE, Calif., and SECAUCUS, N.J., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A series of new surveys, conducted for MSNBC and Knight Ridder by Mason-Dixon, has found that President Bush is leading in five of the key swing states he carried in 2000 - Missouri, Arizona, New Hampshire, Ohio and West Virginia. The state in which Bush had the narrowest lead in the poll was West Virginia, where the president led John Kerry by 1 point. A second wave of poll results from states that voted for Al Gore in 2000 -- Iowa, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Minnesota -- will be announced on Monday night, Sept. 20th. The following table contains the poll's top-line findings: VOTER PREFERENCE KERRY/EDWARDS BUSH/CHENEY NADER/CAMEJO OTHER UND MO 41% 48% 1% 1% 9% AZ 39% 50% 3% 8% NH 40% 49% 3% - 8% OH 42% 49% 2% - 7% WV 44% 45% - - 11% BUSH APPROVAL Approve Disapprove Undecided MO 52% 42% 6% AZ 53% 39% 8% NH 54% 40% 6% OH 51% 42% 7% WV 48% 44% 8% The MSNBC/Knight Ridder poll found that more than 50 percent of voters approve of Bush's overall job as president in Arizona, New Hampshire, Missouri, and Ohio. In West Virginia, a plurality (48%), approve of the president's overall job. In four of the five states polled, more voters believe that the country is on the right track than believe it's on the wrong track. The sentiment is most positive in Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio, where 48 percent, 49 percent, and 47 percent of respondents respectively think the country is on the right track. The Knight Ridder/MSNBC poll also allowed respondents to weigh in on a number of hot topics this election year: military service during in the Vietnam War, a ban on gay marriage and the decision to go to war in Iraq. * A solid majority said they weren't concerned about how each candidate served during the Vietnam War - nearly 80 percent of voters in each state say it will not influence their vote. * A clear majority of voters in all states surveyed said they favor the ban on gay marriage. Respondents in Missouri (which already voted to ban gay marriage) feel the strongest of the five states, with 55 percent of respondents saying they "strongly favor" the ban. * A narrow majority of voters in four states, Arizona, Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio, approve of President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. Missouri voters most strongly agree with the war, with 55 percent of voters approving of the decision. Voters in West Virginia disapprove by a margin of 49-47. The results of the polls will be published in Knight Ridder newspapers, aired on MSNBC and NBC News programs and will be available on MSNBC.com and Knight Ridder Web sites, including http://www.krwashington.com/. Knight Ridder newspapers include The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Detroit Free Press, St. Paul Pioneer Press, The Charlotte Observer, The Kansas City Star, Akron Beacon Journal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and San Jose Mercury News. Survey Methodology The results are the first of three series of swing state polls to be conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. These polls measure voter favorability and voter preference for top presidential candidates who appear on the 2004 general election state ballot in the key swing states that voted for President Bush in the 2000 election. The polls included questions aimed at exploring the issues that may determine how undecided voters make up their minds. States included in the poll are Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio and West Virginia. A seventh swing state, Florida, could not be accurately surveyed this week because of hurricanes. The poll was conducted between Sept. 14 and Sept. 16, 2004. The margin of error is +/-4 percent. About Knight Ridder Knight Ridder is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.7 million daily and 12.6 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, develops and manages the company's online properties. It is the founder and operator of Real Cities (http://www.realcities.com/), the largest national network of city and regional Web sites in more than 100 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are headquartered in San Jose, California. About MSNBC MSNBC is a joint venture between NBC Universal, a leading provider of news and information, and Microsoft, the leader in personal computer software and a major provider of Internet online services. Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC is a 24-hour cable news network and Internet news service at http://msnbc.com/. About Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. Mason-Dixon is an independent polling firm that conducts voter surveys for news media, advocacy groups, trade associations and political action committees. Mason-Dixon is the nation's most active state polling organization, conducting copyrighted public opinion polls for news media organizations in all 50 states. These media clients include over 250 local television affiliates and over 100 daily newspapers. Since 1983, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. has conducted surveys in every state in the country, on almost every public issue, and tracked every major election and referendum. DATASOURCE: Knight Ridder CONTACT: Jennifer Keenan +1-201-926-6429, , for Knight Ridder; or Jeremy Gaines of MSNBC, +1-201-583-5362, Web site: http://www.knightridder.com/ http://msnbc.com/ http://www.krwashington.com/

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