THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 8, 1996 TAG: 9606080371
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 29 lines
While president Bill Clinton enjoys double-digit leads over Republican challenger Bob Dole in most nationwide polls, the two face a tight race in Virginia, a new poll suggests.
Among Virginia voters, Dole leads the Democratic president 45 percent to 44 percent in a poll released Friday by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research, with 11 percent of likely voters undecided.
The president's popularity in Virginia remains mixed, according to the poll, with 37 percent having a favorable opinion of him and the same percentage offering an unfavorable opinion.
Dole, a Kansan who recently announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate, scores slightly better: 39 percent give him favorable marks compared to a 30 percent unfavorable rating.
The poll also showed that a candidacy from Ross Perot, an independent considering a presidential bid, could tilt the Virginia electorate in Clinton's favor. Perot would score about 5 percent of the vote, almost all of it coming from voters who would support Dole in a two-way contest.
The telephone poll - conducted June 3 and 4 with 827 registered voters - is considered accurate within 3.5 percentage points.
KEYWORDS: MASON-DIXON POLL PRESIDENTIAL RACE ELECTION
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