ABC NEWS POLL: CAMPAIGN TRACKING #6 - 10/22/00 EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE AFTER 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, 2000

Fresh Start or Stay the Course? It's a Dead Heat; So is the Race

Al Gore has clawed his way back to a dead heat in the presidential race as voters ponder the choice before them: Go for a fresh start, or keep the current course.

That question, central to this campaign, divides opinion evenly – 44 percent of likely voters say the country needs a fresh beginning, 46 percent say it should stay on track. Votes largely follow, producing a 47-47 percent tie between Gore and George W. Bush.

That continues a slight improvement for Gore, who's inched up from a low of 43 percent support last week. It's been this way since the Democratic convention: Every time one of these candidates seems to start a move, the other battles back.

Overall the race has been – and remains – nothing but close. Bush's support since Labor Day has hovered between 46 and 48 percent; Gore's, 43 to 48 percent. Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan remain in the low single digits. Indeed the race today is exactly where it was right after Labor Day.

60

50 Bush

40 Gore

30 The 2000 Election ABC News and ABC News/Washington Post Polls Results are among likely voters 20

10 Nader

Buchanan 0

g t ay Oc M Jun July Au Sept

Gore Bush Nader Buchanan 10/22 47% 47 3 1 10/20 45 48 3 1 10/19 43 48 3 1 10/15 44 48 4 1 10/9 45 48 3 * 10/1 48 46 3 1 9/6 47 47 3 * (Full trend below)

The race has shown only small movements on a night-to-night basis. These results are based on Friday through Sunday interviews, but adding Thursday and even Wednesday night interviews makes no significant difference – a point on each candidate.

THE SEXES – Gore's had a bit more wiggle in his support because women – who are critical to his efforts – have been more changeable than men. Gore led by 18 points among women after the first debate; that contracted to a single point by last week, but now has moved back to a 12-point Gore lead.

Bush has held a steadier lead among men, now 14 points. This too has varied, but less sharply, from +20 just after Labor Day to a low of +11 at one point last week.

Vote preferences among... Women Men 10/22 Gore +12 Bush +14 10/19 Gore +1 Bush +13 10/9 Gore +9 Bush +17 10/1 Gore +18 Bush +13

The race is tight, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll stay tight. Twelve percent of likely voters are lightly committed or changeable, saying they don’t feel strongly about their preference and may switch allegiance (or remain outright undecided). That's more than enough to make the difference, if either candidate could find the formula to attract them.

START – Bush has positioned himself as the "fresh start" candidate, and most voters accept the premise. But is it a fresh start that they want? This survey posed the choice: Which is more important, a fresh start, or keeping the country on its current course?

As noted, the result is an even split, and vote choices largely correspond. Among those looking for a fresh start, 72 percent favor Bush; among those who want to stay the course, 74 percent are with Gore.

The hazard for Bush in framing the race this way is that there's a still-sizable group of "Clinton-fatigued" voters – people who like Bill Clinton's policies but don’t like him personally – and these voters prefer the "current course" over a "fresh start" by better than 2-1. If they see Gore as providing the performance without the objectionable behavior, this equation could ultimately work to his advantage rather than Bush's.

Vote preference Want... All Gore Bush A fresh start 44% 21% 72 The current course 46 74 18

CLINTON – Any way you slice it, Clinton's presence still looms large. Sixty-two percent of independents like his policies, but roughly as many dislike him personally, leaving Gore the tricky business of associating himself with the policies but not the person.

Similarly, nearly half of likely voters – and 46 percent of independents – say they're upset or angry with Clinton on a personal level. Again, like the fresh start vs current course, it's a question on which the country divides evenly, helping to make the race so close.

Response to Vote preference Clinton's behavior... All Gore Bush Upset or angry 48% 24% 71 Not that concerned 51 69 22

UNION – Voters from union households could prove a critical group, especially if it's a low turnout election, and Gore is winning them by a 2-1 margin. Sixty percent support Gore, 29 percent Bush – about the same as Clinton's union support in 1996 and 1992. Of course what matters is not just whom they support – but how well they turn out.

Support in union households Gore Bush 10/22 60% 29 Clinton Dole Perot 1996 59 30 9 Clinton Bush Perot 1992 55 24 21

METHODOLOGY - This poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 20-22, 2000 among a random national sample of 1,074 likely voters. The results have a three-point error margin. ABC News and The Washington Post are sharing data collection for this tracking poll, then independently applying their own models to arrive at likely voter estimates. Field work by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa.

Analysis by Gary Langer.

ABC News polls can be found at ABCNEWS.com on the Internet, at: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/PollVault/PollVault.html

Here are the full results (* is less than 0.5 percent.). (Call for full trend.)

3. The candidates in November's presidential election are (Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman, the Democrats,) (George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, the Republicans), (Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke of the Green Party) and (Pat Buchanan and Ezola Foster of the Reform Party). If the election were being held today, who would you vote for - (Gore), (Bush), (Nader) or (Buchanan)?

Net Leaned Vote, Likely Voters: None Other Wouldn't No Gore Bush Buchanan Nader (vol.) (vol.) vote (vol.) op. 10/22/00 47 47 1 3 * * * 2 10/21/00 45 48 1 3 * * * 2 10/20/00 45 48 1 3 * * * 2 10/19/00 43 48 1 3 1 * 1 3 10/18/00 44 48 1 3 1 * 1 3 10/17/00 43 48 1 3 1 * 1 3 10/15/00 44 48 1 4 1 * * 3 10/9/00 45 48 * 3 * 1 * 2 10/1/00 48 46 1 3 1 * * 2 9/6/00 47 47 * 3 1 1 0 2 8/20/00 48 44 2 3 1 * * 1 8/10/00 42 50 2 5 * * * 1 8/6/00 37 52 3 5 * 0 * 2 7/29/00 37 52 2 7 1 1 * 1 7/23/00 38 46 6 8 1 * 1 1 6/11/00 43 48 3 3 1 * * 2 5/10/00 38 48 5 5 2 0 * 2

4. Do you support (Gore/Bush/Buchanan/Nader) strongly, or not strongly?

------Gore------Bush------Strngly Not No opin. Strngly Not No opin. Likely Voters: 10/22/00 77 21 2 81 16 2 10/21/00 76 22 2 84 15 1 10/20/00 77 21 2 85 14 1 10/19/00 80 18 1 84 15 1 10/18/00 81 17 2 82 16 1 10/17/00 81 18 1 82 16 1

5. Will you definitely vote for (Gore/Bush/Nader/Buchanan) in November, or is there a chance you could change your mind and vote for someone else? Is there a good chance you'll change your mind or would you say it's pretty unlikely?

10/22/00 Likely Voters: ------Change mind------Definitely vote Good chance Unlikely No opinion Gore 80 7 11 1 Bush 86 5 8 1

6. If the only candidates were (Gore) and (Bush), who would you vote for?

Net Leaned Vote, Likely Voters: Neither Other Wouldn't No Gore Bush (vol.) (vol.) vote (vol.) opin. 10/22/00 49 48 1 1 1 1 10/21/00 48 49 * 0 1 2 10/20/00 47 49 1 0 1 2 10/19/00 45 50 1 0 2 2 10/18/00 46 49 1 0 2 2 10/9/00 46 50 1 * 1 1

7. What do you think is more important - providing the country with a fresh start, or keeping the country on its current course?

Fresh start Current course No opinion Likely Voters: 10/22/00 44 46 9

8. Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of Bill Clinton as a person?

Favorable Unfavorable No opinion Likely Voters: 10/22/00 33 60 7 10/21/00 33 62 6 10/20/00 32 63 5 Registered Voters: 10/1/00 37 58 5 9/6/00 35 62 3 8/20/00 35 61 3 8/10/00 34 62 4 12/15/99 32 65 3 General Population: 1/26/00 34 61 5 12/15/99 36 62 2 9/2/99 38 59 3 3/14/99 30 67 4 3/4/99 40 54 6 12/15/98 41 56 3 11/1/98 42 54 4 11/1/98 LV 37 60 3

9. Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of Bill Clinton's policies and programs?

Favorable Unfavorable No opinion Likely Voters: 10/22/00 60 33 7 10/21/00 55 37 8 10/20/00 54 38 8 Registered Voters: 10/1/00 62 35 4 9/6/00 61 37 2 8/20/00 64 33 3 8/10/00 61 36 3 12/15/99 60 38 2 General Population: 12/15/99 61 37 2

10. How do you feel about Bill Clinton's personal behavior while he's been president - would you say you're not concerned about it; concerned about it, but not upset; upset about it, but not angry; or angry about it?

------Not Upset/Angry------Upset/Angry---- No NET Not concrnd. Concerned NET Upset Angry opin. Likely Voters: 10/22/00 51 23 28 48 23 26 1 10/21/00 51 21 30 49 24 25 1 11/1/98 42 15 27 58 27 31 * 10/25/98 41 15 26 58 23 35 1 10/18/98 44 15 29 56 24 32 1 Registered Voters: 11/1/98 52 23 29 47 25 23 * 10/25/98 52 23 29 47 23 23 1 10/18/98 53 23 29 45 24 21 2

***END***