(Host) According to a new poll, 6% of New Hampshire Democrats support the presidential campaign of Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Dean says he’s encouraged by these results.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports:
(Kinzel) The poll, which was released by the Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College, shows that Dean trails former Vice President Al Gore and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry by a wide margin. But it also shows that he’s now ahead of several top congressional leaders such as Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Gore received 31% of the vote, Kerry got 28%, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman garnered 10% and Dean was favored by 6%. Speaking from New York City, Dean said he was pleased by the results:
(Dean) “I think that Gore and Kerry are expected to do well. All those three guys have much more national exposure and have all campaigned in New Hampshire before. So I think it’s actually pretty good. Basically it shows me in a position that where I have a ways to go but it’s not a bad place to be a year before the election.”
(Kinzel) Dean says President Bush’s dismal handling of the economy is a key issue in the campaign. Bush announced a new economic team in Washington on Monday:
(Dean) “If anybody thinks you can turn the economy around by unbalancing the budget with huge tax cuts, I think they are mistaken. George Bush’s father called this voodoo economics. It is voodoo economics to me. You can change economic advisors as many times as you want to and the economy is not going to get better until you stop the borrow and spend philosophy.”
(Kinzel) Dean says he’s visited New Hampshire over 20 times in recent months and he plans to keep a very active travel schedule in virtually all of the early primary states.
For Vermont Public Radio, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier