Kerry losing ground as talk turns to Iraq
Shift in focus from economy distances some Mich. voters
With President George W. Bush gaining ground with women, Michigan and its 17 electoral votes are now up for grabs, a Free Press poll shows.
The Free Press poll of 830 Michigan voters shows the race in a statistical tie, similar to two other polls released this week. Kerry leads, 48 percent to 46 percent, among registered voters; Bush leads, 50 percent to 48 percent, among likely voters with the election just five weeks away. In earlier polls, Kerry held at least a 4-point lead and more often 6- to 8-point leads. The Free Press poll was taken Sept. 22-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Allen Cichanski of Ann Arbor spoke of the presidential race with the zeal of the recently converted. "I've never voted for anyone other than a Democrat since JFK, but I'm going to vote for my first Republican president," said Cichanski, 65, a retired geology professor who said he did some soul-searching to switch party allegiance. "I think the Democrats couldn't have picked a more horrible candidate than John Kerry. I think he's a fraud, particularly with the whole business of terrorists and Iraq. "He scares the hell out of me. I don't think he wants to win."
http://www.freep.com/news/politics/fppoll30e_20040930.htm
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This is what I have been worried about with Kerry's big gamble by making Iraq and foreign policy everything it distracts from the economic issues. Somehow we need to keep both in the media at the same time to win this thing. Even though I still think we will win Michigan, it is important we hammer home the economic message or we won't have a chance in Ohio.