
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 24, 1995                   TAG: 9508240071
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

POLL FINDS SUPPORT FOR 3RD PARTY IN '96

Public support for a third-party candidate in the 1996 presidential race has been rising steadily as President Clinton's approval rating continues to decline, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The survey by the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press found as many as 26 percent saying they would like to see an independent candidate elected president, compared with 35 percent favoring an unnamed Republican candidate and 32 percent favoring Clinton's re-election.

The nationwide poll of 1,476 respondents conducted last weekend with a margin of error of 4 percentage points showed retired Army Gen. Colin Powell rated highest among possible independent candidates, with a 62 percent favorable rating and 17 percent unfavorable. But even Powell's rating showed some slippage. The hero of the Persian Gulf War, who has not declared his intentions, had received a 67 percent favorable response last February.

The poll found Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., who is considering an independent candidacy, has ``a positive public image'' but is known to only about half the electorate.

Clinton's approval rating in the past two months slipped from 50 percent to 44 percent. The response to a Ross Perot candidacy, however, was only 40 percent favorable and 53 percent unfavorable - demonstrating that his recent United We Stand America political convention in Dallas had done little to help him.

``It's not just the president who is in trouble with the American public,'' according to Andrew Kohut, the survey director. ``Every major political figure tested in the current survey has either a very negative or increasingly unfavorable rating.''

For example, the poll showed that negative ratings for House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., have increased the most - from 37 percent negative in February to 54 percent. These results paralleled growing opposition to Republican policies in Congress.

According to the latest survey, the public disapproves of Republican actions in Congress by a wider margin (45 percent to 38 percent approval) than in mid-June, when disapproval outweighed approval by a margin of 45 percent to 41 percent.

Kohut said the steady growth in potential support for independent candidates seems closely linked to increasing discontent with Republican policies and to a public perception that the Clinton administration is ``gridlocked.''

``Fully 63 percent of those who disapprove of both Clinton and the GOP leaders favor an independent candidate in 1996,'' he said. Among people who describe themselves as political independents, 44 percent said they would cast their ballot for a third-party candidate, while 25 percent said they would support Clinton and 23 percent a Republican challenger, Kohut reported.

Reacting to policies of the Republican-controlled Congress, substantial majorities of respondents disapproved cutting the growth in Medicare spending (61 percent against vs. 34 percent for), reducing funds for public housing programs (59 percent against vs. 37 percent for) and cutting the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency (57 percent opposed vs. 39 percent in favor).

On the other hand, the poll showed most respondents approved cutting funds for foreign aid, for the National Endowment for the Arts and for food stamps.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB