Four years ago, New Hampshire -- like many states -- was enjoying
economic good times with a surge in high-paying, high-tech jobs and a
low unemployment rate of around 2 percent.
Today, unemployment remains well below the national level of 5.7
percent, but the state's unemployment rate has increased to 4.1
percent.
Since 2000, the state has lost 20,000 manufacturing jobs.
Overall, independents who voted Tuesday were disgruntled.
Four in 10 of the independents who voted in the Democratic primary
said they were angry at Bush, and another 4 in 10 said they were
dissatisfied.
Eight in 10 said they were worried there will be another major
terrorist attack in this country.
Results of the survey of 1,848 voters were subject to sampling error
of plus or minus 3 percentage points, higher for subgroups.
INDEPENDENT SUPPORT
Almost four in 10 voters in New Hampshire are independents, political
analysts say.
Their support will be crucial in the general election in a state that
Bush won in 2000 by just over 7,000 votes.
At stake are four electoral votes.
Polling as recently as December showed Bush drawing support from fewer
than half, 47 percent, of independents in a matchup with a Democratic
candidate.
About a third said they would vote for the Democrat, and another 21
percent were undecided.
That's not a strong position for a Republican president in a state
with a Republican governor, Republican congressional delegation and
Republican-dominated state legislature.
The primary results on independent voters are ''a sign that there's a
bloc of independents where there are problems,'' New Hampshire
pollster ***** Bennett said.
``That's why Bush is coming, he has to reach out to the
Republican-leaning independents.''
From The Associated Press, 1/29/04:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/7822566.htm
Voter polls tip Bush off to troubles
New Hampshire exit polls of discontented voters, especially
independents, present warning signs for President Bush.
BY WILL LESTER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -
President Bush is paying heed not only to the criticism from his
Democratic rivals, but also to the dissatisfaction among independent
voters who will play a crucial role in New Hampshire and other
battleground states this November.
The president's trip to the Granite State today comes after months in
which the Democratic hopefuls charged through New Hampshire assailing
his policies, from his tax cuts to handling of postwar Iraq to
education.
In Tuesday's primary, independent voters played a major role, making
up almost half -- 45 percent -- of New Hampshire's record Democratic
primary turnout of about 200,000.
Seven in 10 independents who voted in the primary said the nation's
economy is not in good shape, according to an exit poll conducted for
The Associated Press and TV networks by Edison Media Research and
Mitofsky International.
Almost 9 in 10 said they were worried about the direction of the
nation's economy in the next few years.
Eight in 10 said the Bush tax cuts should be canceled altogether or
only for the wealthy.
The views about the economy of independents who voted in the
Democratic primary were almost as sour as those of Democratic voters.
_____________________________________________________
The storm clouds gather.
Harry
.
|
