ABC: LV Bush 51% Kerry 45%; 76% of LV Will Watch VP Debate [View All]

[tritsofme]

Oct. 5, 2004— With unusually high voter interest in this year's presidential race, a vast majority of likely voters plan on tuning in to tonight's debate between John Edwards and Dick Cheney — far more than four years ago

Seventy-six percent of likely voters in an ABC News tracking poll plan to watch the debate, sharply up from 57 percent before the vice-presidential debate between Cheney and Joe Lieberman in 2000

That follows a pattern of high interest in this year's contest: Fifty-six percent of likely voters say they're following the presidential race "very closely," compared with 37 percent at this point in 2000. And 76 percent of Americans now say they're registered to vote, five points more than in an ABC News/Washington Post poll in early October 2000.

Democrats were less engaged than Republicans or independents at this point in 2000. Now, however, voters of all political stripes are paying close attention — 58 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of Democrats and independents alike...

For now, vote preferences have remained stable. In today's results, a three-day average of Saturday through Monday night polling, 51 percent of likely voters favor Bush, 45 percent Kerry and 1 percent Ralph Nader.
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http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/Vote2004/vp_debate_poll_041005.html