Poll: Bush still has big leads over McCain, Democrats in Nevada

Sunday, Dec. 5, 1999 | 3:29 a.m.

Texas Gov. George Bush still enjoys double-digit leads over all Republican and Democratic rivals in the presidential race in Nevada, a new statewide poll shows.

Bush holds a 39-point lead over Arizona Sen. John McCain, his nearest GOP rival. Fifty seven percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Bush and 18 percent favored McCain.

In potential general-election matchups against Democratic contenders, Bush has a 12-point lead over Vice President Al Gore and a 10-point lead over former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley.

In matchup between, Bush, Gore and Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan, Bush took 47 percent, Gore 35 percent, Buchanan 6 percent and 12 percent were undecided.

In a Bradley-Bush-Buchanan contest, Bush had 44 percent, Bradley 34 percent, Buchanan 5 percent and 17 percent were undecided.

McCain has a 9-point lead over Gore and a 6-point lead over Bradley.

In a Democratic primary, Gore enjoys a comfortable lead over Bradley - 51 percent to 31 percent with 18 percent undecided.

The poll was conducted Nov. 22 and 23 and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C., for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KTNV-TV, Channel 13.

"It's interesting that McCain is picking up ... but Bush is still the clear front-runner," said Brad Coker, Mason-Dixon's managing director. "It's a sign the Democrats have their work cut out for them."

Ted Jelen, head of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' political science department, said he believes the Republicans' advantage over Democrats is a negative response to President Clinton. He doesn't think Nevadans are turning more conservative.

"If it was a conservative trend, (publisher) Steve Forbes would be doing a lot better. He's the conservative alternative," he said.

Forbes trailed Bush and McCain with support from 6 percent of 307 likely Republican voters surveyed.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch had 3 percent, conservative Gary Bauer 2 percent, former ambassador Alan Keyes 1 percent and 13 percent were undecided.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has endorsed Gore, maintains Bush would be bad for Nevada.

"I can't understand how anybody in Nevada can support Bush, who is anti-gaming and pro-nuclear waste," Reid said. "If the Republicans are dumb enough to nominate Bush, Gore will carry Nevada."

But Bush state finance chairman Sig Rogich disagreed, saying Bush is open to listening to Nevada's position opposing the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"Bush hasn't given a definitive answer on the nuclear waste issue yet, but his philosophy has always been to allow adjudication at the state level," Rogich said.

Bush may oppose the expansion of gambling, but that doesn't mean he's antigambling, Rogich added.

The general election poll had a 4 percentage point margin of error in either direction; the primary poll had a 5 percentage point margin of error.

The statewide sample was 43 percent Democrats, 45 percent Republicans and 12 percent independents, with 49 percent male and 51 percent female.