Poll: Gore closes gap against Bush
By Keating Holland/CNN
July 17, 2000
Web posted at: 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Capitalizing on gains among women and independents, Vice President Al Gore has closed the gap against Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the presidential race, according the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.
If the November election were held today, 48 percent of likely voters would choose Bush and 46 percent would pick Gore. A week ago, Bush had a 50 percent to 41 percent lead over the vice president.
Gore now leads among women, 51 percent to 44 percent, erasing a two-point lead Bush held as recently as last week. Gore was also losing badly among independent voters last week, but now holds a thin 44 percent to 41 percent lead over Bush in this category.
Most of Gore's gain among independents come from likely voters who lean toward the Democratic party -- Bill Bradley's natural constituency during the primary season -- indicating that the former New Jersey senator's endorsement of Gore may have boosted the vice president's chances among that group of voters.
The poll, conducted July 14-16, consisted of interviews with 1,063 adult Americans, including 635 likely voters.
Likely voters' choice for president
| | Now | July 6-9 |
| Bush | 48% | 50% |
| Gore | 46% | 41 |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
Likely Voters' choice for president (with third party candidates)
| Bush | 45% |
| Gore | 43 |
| Nader | 5 |
| Buchanan | 3 |
| Sampling error: +/-4% pts |
Female likely voters' choice for president
| | Now | July 6-9 |
| Gore | 51% | 43% |
| Bush | 44 | 45 |
| Sampling error: +/-6% pts |
Male likely voters' choice for president
| | Now | July 6-9 |
| Gore | 53% | 54% |
| Bush | 41 | 45% |
| Sampling error: +/-6% pts |
Independent likely voters'choice for presidents
| | Now | July 6-9 |
| Gore | 44% | 32% |
| Bush | 41 | 48% |
| Sampling error: +/-6% pts |
18-29-year-old likely voters' choice for president
| | Now | July 6-9 |
| Bush | 64% | 54% |
| Gore | 30 | 45 |
| Sampling error: +/-7% pts |
One ace in the hole for Bush is that his supporters appear to care more about the outcome of the election than Gore voters do. Six in 10 Bush voters say it is extremely important or very important that Bush win in November; only a bare majority of Gore voters feel that way about their candidate. Gore, Bush, and Nader all have higher favorable ratings than unfavorable ratings, but more than one in three Americans still have no opinion of the Green Party candidate. Buchanan, however, is viewed unfavorably by nearly half the country; only about a quarter have a positive impression of the Reform Party hopefuls.
18-29-year-old likely voters' choice for president
| | Bush Voters | Gore Voters |
| Extremely important | 27% | 17% |
| Very important | 33 | 36 |
| Somewhat important | 30 | 34 |
| Not important | 9 | 11 |
| Sampling error: +/-5% pts |
Opinion of Candidates
| | Favorable | Unfavorable |
| Bush | 64% | 29% |
| Gore | 58 | 34 |
| Nader | 42 | 22 |
| Buchanan | 28 | 49 |
| Sampling error: +/-3% pts |
Has a running mate ever affected your vote?
| Yes | 13% |
| No | 87 |
| Sampling error: +/-3% pts |
Bush voters: If Bush's vice presidential choice disagreed
with your views on abortion
| No effect on vote | 39% |
| Upset, but would vote for Bush | 48 |
| Not vote for Bush | 87 |
| Sampling error: +/-5% pts |
| 
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