To: Raymond Duray who wrote (1936 ) 5/6/2003 3:10:13 PM From: Glenn Petersen Respond to of 10965 Still very early, but a dead heat in NH.Kerry, Dean Tied in New Hampshire Poll Tue May 6,11:58 AM ET By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer story.news.yahoo.com WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential rivals John Kerry and Howard Dean are tied in the latest poll of likely New Hampshire voters. The survey by Franklin Pierce College, conducted April 27-May 1, found the two candidates at 23 percent, with Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) of Connecticut far behind at 9 percent and Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) of Missouri at 8 percent. The results were similar to a survey by the same organization in early April. A Mason-Dixon poll released this weekend, however, showed Kerry at 28 percent and Dean at 21 percent. Beyond the support numbers in the Franklin Pierce poll, Kerry had a favorable rating of 64 percent, the highest of the Democrats, and just 4 percent didn't know the Massachusetts senator. Dean had a favorable rating of 49 percent and 18 percent did not know about the former Vermont governor. The poll of 600 likely primary voters had an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The competition between Dean and Kerry has been fierce, with the two candidates and their respective campaigns at odds over a number of issues, including national security, the U.S.-led war against Iraq (news - web sites) and the long-term strength of the U.S. military. In the poll, two Democrats who have not announced — former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart and retired Gen. Wesley Clark — were at 2 percent. Democrats who are running for president — North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (news, bio, voting record), Florida Sen. Bob Graham (news, bio, voting record), Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich (news, bio, voting record) and former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun — were at 1 percent and Al Sharpton was at 0 percent. Almost a third of those surveyed, 31 percent, were undecided, down from 38 percent in the early April poll.