|
Kerry can beat bush { February 4 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0402040388feb04,1,7234185.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hedhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0402040388feb04,1,7234185.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Kerry's potential vs. Bush was a key
Voters in exit poll also cite his record
By John McCormick
Tribune staff reporter
February 4, 2004
Sen. John Kerry's lopsided victory in Tuesday's primary election in Missouri offers an important endorsement from a key general election state that has with one exception picked every White House winner in the past century.
Democratic voters in the battleground state also showed a robust willingness to rally behind the Massachusetts senator, with exit polls indicating that four of every five Missouri voters would be satisfied if he wins the Democratic presidential nomination. More than half went so far as saying that they would be "very satisfied" if he wins the party's backing.
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and four-term senator, won Missouri because people liked his prospects of beating President Bush in November, according to exit polling conducted for major news organizations by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
One-third of those who voted for Kerry in Missouri said his ability to beat Bush was their top reason for picking him. Voters also listed experience and a willingness to "stand up for what he believes" as other reasons for backing Kerry.
By many measures, Missouri is a microcosm of the nation, a swing state that blends urban and rural, North and South. So Kerry's strong showing there--winning about half of the Democratic primary vote--should add heft and confidence into his front-runner campaign.
Missouri's primary gained importance in recent days after Rep. Richard Gephardt dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination. The long-time Missouri congressman was viewed as the sure winner, so all the other candidates had avoided the state until Gephardt dropped out following his fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 19.
About half of Missouri voters made their decisions in the past week, the exit poll indicates, as Kerry rode a wave of momentum following a double-digit victory in New Hampshire. Among those who made up their mind in the past week, Kerry won half the vote, followed distantly by Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.
Kerry was easily the favorite among union members, senior citizens and those who said they feel angry when they think about the Bush administration.
More than half of the Missouri respondents said they had served in the military or someone in their household had. Among that group, Kerry won about half the vote.
Although nearly two-thirds of Missouri Democrats disagree with the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq, Kerry, who voted for the resolution to go to war, did well even among this group, receiving about half of the vote from war opponents.
Kerry did best among voters with total family incomes of less than $50,000, with Dean, Edwards and Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut nibbling away some of his support among higher-income voters. The Massachusetts senator showed equal strength among white voters and African-Americans, who represented about 15 percent of the vote.
Among Kerry's voters, nearly half described themselves as "moderate," about a third called themselves "somewhat liberal" and just 1 in 10 labeled themselves as "very liberal."
Missouri Democrats listed jobs and the economy as their top issue, followed by health care, education and the war in Iraq. National security and war on terrorism was viewed as the most important issue by only about one in 20 voters.
The exit poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for the entire sample and larger for subgroups.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
|
|
