Poll Shows Bush, Dukakis in Dead Heat
A poll Wednesday put Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis in a dead heat with Vice President George Bush in the presidential contest, a better showing for Bush than other recent national polls have found.
The telephone survey of 1,013 adults completed last Sunday by ABC News and Money Magazine found 45% support for Dukakis and 42% for Bush--a tie, given the margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
In a Gallup Poll published Wednesday, Dukakis led Bush by 5 percentage points. That survey of 1,210 voters, also taken through Sunday, had the Massachusetts governor ahead 46% to 41%, compared to a 14-point lead two weeks ago when he led Bush by 52% to 38%. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 points in each case.
Other polls have shown Dukakis leading by wider margins, including a Washington Post poll last week giving him a 12-point lead.
The ABC-Money Magazine poll found support for Dukakis down 7 points from an ABC-Post poll in mid-May that used the same methodology. Bush rose only from 41% to 42% support; those who did not know grew from 2% to 6%. The rest said they would not vote or would support someone else.
Poll analysts said they expected the race to tighten as Dukakis came off the crest of his Democratic primary victories.
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