President Bush Leads Popularity Poll In Florida
Bush led Kerry in the poll by 51% to 43%, with 6% undecided, according to the poll of 625 registered voters, conducted March 30-April 1. The error margin is 4 percentage points.
Bush's lead is a drop from his 57%-34% lead in an identical poll in November, which pollster Brad Coker of Mason- Dixon Polling & Research Inc. attributed to events in Iraq and criticism of Bush by the Democratic primary contenders.
The poll also indicated that Bush's attack ads have hurt Kerry's reputation among Florida voters. Those who said they had a negative opinion of Kerry have doubled since November, from 21% to 42%.
Adding Florida Sen. Bob Graham to the ticket brought Kerry closer to Bush, but didn't put him ahead, according to the poll. The Bush-Cheney ticket beat the Kerry-Graham ticket 49%-46%.