Tracking poll: Bush, Gore stalemate continues
By CNN Polling Director Keating Holland
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Monday's CNN/USA Today/Gallup tracking poll indicates that the presidential contest remains a neck-and-neck race, with Texas Gov. George W. Bush at 47 percent and Vice President Al Gore with 44 percent support among likely voters. The Republican presidential nominee has made significant gains in the past few days and for the first time in the fall campaign season has been able to maintain his position in the mid-to-high 40s range for several days in a row.
The Texas governor also appears to have peeled back some of Gore's support. The vice president's share of the vote has not been this low since the Democratic National Convention. And after two weeks during which Gore's strength did not dip below 48 percent, it appears that the race has entered a new phase in which it has become increasingly more competitive.
Despite heated exchanges on the campaign trail last week, the issue of rising oil prices doesn't appear to be having a large effect on voters, with 42 percent of those surveyed saying that Bush could better handle the situation and 39 percent saying Gore would do the better job. Those numbers are virtually the same as they were in mid-September, indicating that the vice president's announcement on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has not yet changed voters' minds on this issue one way or the other.
About one-fifth of those surveyed say they are very worried about rising fuel prices, but these voters also give Gore a 54 percent to 41 percent advantage -- further indication that the vice president's announcement on releasing a portion of the reserve has not hurt him.
Bush's lead in the latest tracking poll falls within the survey's margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points. CNN will be releasing the results on its tracking polls every day until the November 7 elections. The polls monitor public opinion of the presidential race over intervals of two to three days.
CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
September 22-24
Likely voters' choice for president
Bush 47%
Gore 44
Nader 2
Buchanan 1
Sampling error: +/-4% pts
CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
September 22-24
Who would do a better job handling rising fuel prices?
Now Sept. 11-13
Bush 42% 42%
Gore 39 37
Unsure 19 21
Sampling error: +/-4% pts
CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
September 22-24
How worried are you about rising fuel prices?
Very worried 22%
Somewhat worried 38
Not worried 40
Sampling error: +/-4% pts
CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
September 22-24
Likely voters who are very worried about fuel prices
Gore 54%
Bush 41
Sampling error: +/-4% pts
| 
(
