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Bush leads McCain

nationwide: polls

WASHINGTON: Texas governor George W Bush holds a substantial lead against his rival Arizona Senator John McCain in the Republican presidential race despite the latter's recent primary wins, according to two polls released on Saturday.

A Newsweek poll, appearing in the magazine's edition out Monday, gave Bush a 56-27 percent lead against McCain among registered Republicans and Republican-leaning voters.

Registered Republicans also said they like Bush more than McCain, with 86 percent of Republican voters having a favourable opinion of him compared to 72 percent for McCain.

But among all voters, McCain's favourability rating is higher than Bush, 60 percent to 55 percent, according to the poll.

But Independents and Democrats support for McCain, which helped him win the primaries in New Hampshire and Michigan, are not likely to give him a boost in upcoming primaries, many of which only registered Republicans can vote in.

The Newsweek poll also showed that only five percent of Democrats said they have voted or would vote in a Republican primary or caucus.

Among registered Democrats, Vice President Al Gore was ahead 61 percent to 18 percent against former senator and professional basketball player Bill Bradley in the race for the Democratic presidential bid, according to Newsweek.

Gore also beat out Bradley in a primary race that included Independents by 58 percent to 21 percent, the poll showed.

But in the November general election, either Republic candidate would win against Gore or Bradley. If Gore was chosen the Democratic nominee, Bush and McCain would win by a nine-percentage point margin, according to the Newsweek poll of 750 people. The two Republicans would beat out Bradley by wider margins.

A Time/CNN poll released on Saturday also showed Bush far ahead of McCain before the Republican presidential primary vote in California, giving him a 48-23 percent lead among registered Republicans.

The Time/CNN poll of 1,000 voters also puts Gore ahead of Bradley by 56 percent to 11 percent among registered Democrats.

A presidential race among California voters would give Gore the presidency if he faced Bush in the general election (54 percent versus 41 percent), but would place him in a dead-heat with McCain if he were chosen the Republican nominee (46 percent to 47 percent), according to the poll.

California, one of the 16 states involved in the "Super Tuesday" primary vote, is a coveted prize for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates due to the large number of delegates at stake for each party.

The primary voting process is designed to choose delegates for both parties' conventions, where the presidential nominee is selected.

Both polls were conducted on February 24-25.ÑAFP