| Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters Feb. 23-24, 2004 |
On Gay Marriage, Voters Trust Bush To Control Government Spending, It's a Toss-Up |
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February 26,
2004--On the issue of gay marriage, 52% of the nation's voters trust
President George W. Bush more than Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry.
A Rasmussen Reports survey conducted as Bush announced his support for a
Constitutional Amendment on this issue finds that 26% of voters prefer
Kerry. These numbers have shifted just modestly from a few weeks ago when voters preferred Bush by a 48% to 29% margin. When it comes to controlling government spending, the story is quite different. Forty-one percent (41%) of voters today trust John Kerry more than George W. Bush to hold the line on federal spending. Only 37% say the President is better. Those numbers represent an improvement for the Republican from earlier in the month when Kerry was preferred by a nine point margin (42% to 33%). Still, it is unusual for any Democrat to have an edge on this issue. The political implications of this are significant in a nation where 64% of Americans say they prefer smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes. Only 22% want a more active government with more services and higher taxes. Being seen as a big spender is far more damaging than running up deficits. This latest data is consistent with other surveys showing a modest shift if public perceptions of Senator Kerry. When Kerry first became the frontrunner, a plurality of voters viewed him as politically moderate. Since then, there has been a four-point increase in the number of voters who see Kerry as politically liberal. There has also been an increase in the number of voters who believe Senator Kerry will raise their taxes. On another contentious issue, Immigration, 39% of voters prefer Bush while 38% prefer Kerry. Earlier in the month, those numbers were 37% for the President and 40% for the Senator. Rasmussen Reports is tracking the Presidential race on a daily basis. The latest results are posted by noon each day. The national telephone survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports February 23 and 24, 2004. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. (see Methodology) Rasmussen Reports provides daily updates on the Presidential Election and on the economic confidence of Consumers and Investors. |
Bush-Kerry Daily Presidential Tracking Poll Bush-Kerry: Voter First Impressions Bush-Kerry: Economy, Taxes, Social Security, National Defense Democratic Party Primary Preferences
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