• Home
• Voting & Democracy
  • Go Vote
  • N.C. Voter Guide
  • VoterRadio.com
• Research & Publications
  • Follow the Money
  • NCCVE Research
• Multimedia
  • The Voter Update Podcast
• For the Media
  • News Releases
  • Media Advisories
  • Contact NCCVE
• About Us
  • Board of Directors
  • Staff
  • Contribute to NCCVE
  • Contact Us
• Search

May 12, 2000

Poll: Likely Voters Prefer Bush to Gore

RALEIGH, N.C., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Governor George W. Bush leads Vice-President Al Gore in North Carolina, according to a new poll of likely voters commissioned by the North Carolina Center for Voter Education.

Republican Governor Bush had 46 percent while the Democratic Vice President had 32 percent in the poll released Friday. Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan was supported by 3 percent of those surveyed. Nineteen percent indicated that they were undecided.

The survey of 500 registered voters has a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent and was conducted May 3 - 4 by the Tarrance Group of Alexandria, Virginia on behalf of the NC Center for Voter Education. The Center, based in Raleigh, has been studying voter attitudes toward campaign reform.

The survey also revealed that Bush enjoyed a larger lead among those voters most likely to vote, with his margin over Gore increasing to 17 points. "We can predict likelihood of voting using voter models based on education, income, and historical data," said Center Executive Director Chris Heagarty.

In the poll, Bush, the Texas governor, drew 52 percent of male voters to Gore's 29 percent. Among women, Bush leads Gore 40 percent to 36 percent. Women have been a Democratic stronghold in recent years, with President Clinton leading by 16 percentage points nationwide among women in the 1996 election according to exit polling.

Bush led among Independents by 12 percentage points, receiving 36 percent to Gore's 24 percent. Only three percent of Independents indicated they would vote for Buchanan.

While Bush received solid support from North Carolina Republicans, 89 percent, Gore received support from just 66 percent of the surveyed Democrats, with 14 percent of the Democrats favoring Bush, and 17 percent of them undecided.

###