Dean Has Small Lead in Iowa Poll, Bush Beats Dems
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 29, 2003
Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) — On the heels of making national news with a 21-point lead over his nearest rival in New Hampshire, Howard Dean leads Dick Gephardt by 4 percent in a new Iowa poll. However, neither they nor any of the other pro-abortion Democratic presidential candidates beats President Bush in a head-to-head matchup.
Dean, former governor of Vermont, was at 25 percent and Gephardt, a Missouri congressman, was at 21 percent. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts had 16 percent, and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was at 12 percent.
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina had 6 percent; retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, who is considering a presidential run, was at 3 percent; and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Sen. Bob Graham of Florida were at 1 percent. Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton were at 0 percent.
All of the Democratic candidates are pro-abortion.
QUESTION: If you were voting today for the Democratic nominee for President, which of the following candidates would you vote for? (NAMES ROTATED):
All Men Women Howard Dean 25% 26% 24% Richard Gephardt 21% 23% 18% John Kerry 16% 11% 21% Joe Lieberman 12% 17% 7% John Edwards 6% 6% 6% Wesley Clark 3% 4% 2% Dennis Kucinich 1% 1% 1% Bob Graham 1% 1% 1% Carol Mosely Braun – – – Al Sharpton – – – Undecided (not read) 15% 11% 20%
Meanwhile, when all Iowans are polled, none of the Democratic contenders can defeat President Bush.
If the choice were between Bush and Gephardt, Bush would win with 48 percent to Gephardt’s 39 percent. In a match between Bush and Kerry, Bush would get 49 percent of the vote while Kerry would garner 40 percent.
Bush led Dean 51 to 38 percent among Iowa voters and led other candidates by large margins.
A June poll by the same firm had Dean in third place with 11 percent. A survey taken by the Des Moines Register last month had Dean and Gephardt both in the low 20s, showing Dean’s rise.
Recent polls put Sen. Lieberman first in other early primary states, South Carolina and Arizona.
Polling is difficult in Iowa because no one knows how many Iowa Democrats will take party in local party caucuses. Although 600,000 Iowans are registered Democrats, only approximately 100,000 are expected to attend caucus meetings.
The new poll was conducted by Research 2000 for KCCI-TV of Des Moines and has a margin of error of 5 percent.
