THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250416
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 31 lines
Although Virginia voters haven't given a majority to a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964, a new poll suggests they are thinking about it this year.
President Clinton leads Republican Bob Dole 51 percent to 38 percent, according to a survey of 801 state voters conducted July 10 to July 22 by the Survey Research Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Two factors account for Clinton's early lead, according to poll director Scott Keeter.
``One is that most voters are not yet paying a lot of attention to the presidential race and, as a consequence, Dole has not consolidated his base,'' he said.
``The second factor is that Clinton remains fairly popular in Virginia, while at the same time Dole is hurt by the relative unpopularity of the Republican leaders and their proposals in Congress.''
Thirty-nine percent of the poll participants said they disagree with the agenda of Republican congressional leaders, while 32 percent said they supported it.
The poll showed three-term Republican U.S. Sen. John W. Warner holding a lead of 50 percent to 24 percent over Democratic challenger Mark R. Warner.
The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. by CNB