BUSH HOLDS A 10-POINT LEAD OVER GORE
Republicans Edge Democrats on U.S. Congressional Ballot

June 8, 2000

CONTACT: STU POLK
  Senior Analyst, John McLaughlin & Associates
  (703) 518-4445/spolk@mclaughlinonline.com

NATIONAL MEDIA RELEASE

If anyone was wondering why the Democrats have launched their multimillion-dollar soft-money TV ad campaign for Al Gore, it's probably because the Democrats have results like these.

George W. Bush hold a 10-point lead over Al Gore in a recent John McLaughlin & Associates national survey among likely voters. Geographically, Bush is winning in every region across the country. Bush's appeal has reached outside traditional Republican strongholds to what will be key voter segments in November. Bush leads Gore among independents, ticket splitters, Catholics, baby-boomers, seniors, and women.

In a generic vote for U.S. Congress, the Republicans edge the Democrats for the lead. The ballot is still close but the Republicans have a 3-point advantage with one-quarter of the electorate remaining undecided. Republicans lead among conservatives, economic issue voters, pro-life voters, ticket splitters, Protestants, Catholics, and seniors. Independents are up for grabs. The independent vote is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, with more than 4 in 10 independents remaining undecided.

Other Key National Survey Findings:

• Voters have a net negative opinion of Bill Clinton (41.3% favorable to 49.3% unfavorable) with 9.4% having no opinion of him.
• Voter opinion of Al Gore is split (41.9% favorable to 42.2% unfavorable) with 15.8% having no opinion of him.
• George W. Bush has a better than 5 to 3 positive to negative opinion ratio (53.8% favorable to 30.2% unfavorable) with 16.0% having no opinion of him.
• When asked, "In your opinion, what is the most important issue you would like to see the next President make his top priority upon taking office?", the top verbatim responses were: education (11.6%), health care (8.2%), Social Security (7.1%), gun control (6.5%), taxes (5.7%), the economy (3.9%), honesty/integrity (3.2%), abortion (3.0%), national defense (2.6%), moral/family values (2.4%), and crime (2.2%).
• A plurality (30.0%) of the voters are most concerned with social issues such as education, health care, and the environment. More than one-quarter (28.7%) of the voters are concerned with economic issues such as taxes, government spending, and jobs. Close to 1 in 5 (17.8%) are concerned with moral issues such as abortion, school prayer, and promoting traditional values. The remaining voters were concerned with local issues (13.4%) such as crime, drugs, and welfare, and 6.6% were concerned with foreign policy and national defense issues.
• By a 2 to 1 ratio (59.9% to 28.5%), voters most favor a smaller government with fewer services to a larger government with many services.
• Among all voters, 7 in 10 (72.3%) own a computer, and 6 in 10 (60.3%) regularly use an Internet service or email on their computer.

  Survey Methodology:

  This national survey was conducted from June 4-5, 2000, among 1,000 voters who are likely to vote in the November elections for President and U.S. Congress.

  All interviews were conducted by professional interviewers via telephone. Interview selection was at random within predetermined election units. These units were structured to correlate statistically with actual voter distributions in general elections for President.

  The accuracy of this survey of 1,000 likely general election voters is within +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval.

  Please contact Stu Polk at (703) 518-4445 or by email at spolk@mclaughlinonline.com if you have any questions regarding the national survey results.
  
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