National Poll Reports Almost Two-Thirds of Americans Believe President Bush will be Re-elected

On Media: CNN and Fox News Lead as Favorites

FAIRFIELD, Conn., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A national poll released today by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute indicates that despite who they plan to support on November 2, 2004, 69.9% believe President Bush will be re-elected, while 21.6% believe Senator Kerry will win.

The Election Today: In an "election held today," President Bush would defeat Senator Kerry 48.4% to 43.3% among likely voters. Another 2.3% would support Ralph Nader,5.3% remained undecided and 0.7% refused.

Surrogates: Respondents were asked if they were aware of twenty different Bush and Kerry surrogate campaigners, such as U.S. Senator John McCain, former Vice President Al Gore, film maker Michael Moore, and radio/TV host Sean Hannity.Aware respondents were asked if they had a favorable or unfavorable impression of each.

The overall average favorable rating for the ten Bush campaign surrogates was 61.3% while the overall average favorable rating for the ten Kerry campaign surrogates was 51.2%.

The 2008 Presidential Election: If the 2008 Presidential election "were held today," 50.8% of registered voters would expect to support U.S. Senator John McCain (R), and 36.7% would expect to support U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D). Some 8.6% are undecided and 0.8% refused.

If the Republican nominee was former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani,55.0% would expect to support the former Mayor while 35.6% would expect to support U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, the Democrat.

On Media & Politics:

Both CNN and Fox News appear be leading as favorites -- 26.6% and 22.4% --when respondents anticipated who they plan to turn to for election 2004 coverage and reporting. These cable networks were followed by ABC News(11.7%), NBC News (10.5%), Local News (9.5%), PBS News (7.4%), CBS News(7.1%), MSNBC News (3.7%), CNBC (0.7%), and CBN (0.4%).

Only 13.0% suggest they believe "all" or "most" of media news reporting.Another 60.0% suggest they believe only "some," while 25.2% indicated they believe "little" or "none" of media reporting.

A large majority of survey respondents, 83.9%, suggest they strongly (51.2%) or somewhat agree (32.7%) that the news media have their own political and policy positions and attempt to influence public opinion.

One quarter of all respondents, 26.8%, suggest news media journalists are mostly moderate while 13.9% suggest they are mostly conservative and 40.1% indicated they are mostly liberal. Some, 19.2% were unsure.

A National Sales Tax:

Just one third of respondents, 35.4% strongly or somewhat support a move in Congress to scrap the Internal Revenue Service in favor of a new national sales tax. Another 44.1% are opposed. And 20.4% are unsure.

For full poll results or for further comment, contact Funda Alp at203-685-6691.

The Sacred Heart University Polling Institute completed 1003 interviews nation wide. Phone interviews were conducted September 27 - October 2, 2004.The sample was proportional to population contribution in all 50 states. The sample of 1003 completed telephone interviews represents a margin for error of+/- 3.0% at a 95% confidence level.

Sacred Heart University is the first Catholic university in the UnitedStates to be led and staffed by lay people and the second-largest Catholic university in New England. Located in Fairfield, Connecticut, SHU has experienced twofold enrollment growth during the past ten years due to its outstanding academic programs in business, education, the liberal arts and the health sciences. Visit us online: http://www.sacredheart.edu

SOURCE Sacred Heart University Polling Institute
Web Site: http://www.sacredheart.edu