Poll Shows Dole Down 20 Points In California

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Oct. 23) -- GOP nominee Bob Dole may have a tougher road ahead of him in California than he originally thought when he decided last week to focus on the state, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll.

The poll says Dole trails President Bill Clinton by a full 20 points among likely voters in the Golden State, 54 percent to 34 percent. Reform Party candidate Ross Perot drew 6 percent of the vote.

Dole has been running millions of dollars' worth of television advertising in California since he decided to make an all-out run at the state after the last presidential debate in San Diego. The Times poll suggests that his efforts may be bearing no fruit.

Answering Clinton's question from the last debate, 47 percent of the people surveyed agreed that they were better off now than four years ago, compared to 22 percent who said they were worse off and 30 percent who said their finances were about the same. But Dole isn't even ahead among those who report they're worse off. He and Clinton split that vote.

The poll of 1,551 Californians was conducted Oct. 17-21 and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. It included 1,290 registered voters, 1,038 of whom said they are likely to vote.

A Field Poll of Californians released Oct. 11 painted Dole a far more favorable picture of California, showing him trailing Clinton 48-38 percent, only a ten-point gap.

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Poll Shows Dole Down 20 Points In California

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