Knight Ridder/MSNBC Poll Shows Bush Still Ahead in Five 'Red' Battleground States - Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, West Virg
October 20 2004 - 8:45PM
PR Newswire (US)
Knight Ridder/MSNBC Poll Shows Bush Still Ahead in Five 'Red'
Battleground States - Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, West
Virginia, Ohio In Ohio, Gap Narrows to One-Point Bush Lead; Race
Still Tight in Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, W. Virginia SAN
JOSE, Calif. and SECAUCUS, N.J., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
The latest results in a new series of election surveys, conducted
for MSNBC and Knight Ridder by Mason-Dixon, has found that
President Bush continues to lead in five battleground states
(labeled "red" for their color coding on maps) that he won in the
2000 election: Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, West Virginia and
Ohio. However, he holds only a one-point lead in Ohio and leads by
three points in New Hampshire. At least 6% of voters remain
undecided in each state. Less than two weeks before Election Day,
the Knight Ridder/MSNBC survey offers a detailed look at the
shifting state-by-state battleground where the presidency will be
decided. A second wave of poll results from "blue" states --
Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- will be
announced on Thursday night, Oct. 21. The MSNBC/Knight Ridder
survey of 625 likely voters in each of the five states was
conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research on Oct. 14-16 and
had an error margin of plus or minus four percentage points.
Following are the poll's top-line results: If the election were
held today would you vote for: CO MO NH OH WV Kerry-Edwards 43 44
45 45 44 Bush-Cheney 49 49 48 46 49 Nader-Camejo 1 -- 1 -- 1 Other
1 -- -- 1 -- Undecided 6 7 7 8 6 Bush Approval Rating Continues to
Hold at About 50%, Slips to 47% in Ohio The Knight Ridder/MSNBC
poll found that the president's overall approval rating continues
to hover at about 50% in these swing states, similar to the poll's
findings a month ago. In Ohio, however, Bush's approval rating fell
to 47% from 51% a month ago, splitting almost evenly those who
approve the job he is doing and those who disapprove (46%). CO MO
NH OH WV Approve 50 51 49 47 52 Disapprove 42 43 44 46 42 Undecided
8 6 6 7 6 Survey Methodology The results are the second 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 Iowa, Missouri (polling done in conjunction with St. Paul
Pioneer Press), Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The poll was
conducted between Oct. 14 and Oct. 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, Calif. 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 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: Annalise Carol, +1-646-805-2023, or for Knight
Ridder; or Jeremy Gaines, +1-201-583-5362, or , for MSNBC Web site:
http://msnbc.com/ Web site: http://www.knightridder.com/
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