Bush, Kerry Tied at 46% in New Jersey, Quinnipiac Poll Shows
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry are tied at 46 percent each in New Jersey, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. Bush, who visited the state last week, erased a 4-point Kerry lead.
The survey Oct. 21-25 of 852 likely voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. A poll Oct. 14-17 by Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac showed Kerry backed by 49 percent to Bush's 45 percent.
``We've counted carefully and frequently, but Senator Kerry hasn't been able to pull away from President Bush in New Jersey,'' Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement. ``The outcome is in the hands of a small group of undecided voters.''
Independent candidate Ralph Nader got 2 percent and 6 percent of voters say they are still undecided. Bush was probably helped by his Oct. 18 visit to the southern New Jersey town of Marlton, his first appearance in the state since December, Carroll said.
The president lost New Jersey, which has 15 electoral votes, to Democrat Al Gore by 16 percentage points in 2000. To win the presidency, a candidate must gain majorities in enough states to collect at least 270 Electoral College votes, which are apportioned among states based on congressional representation. That tally, rather than national vote totals, determines the winner. |
