Dole Lead Over Forbes Shrinks in Iowa Poll
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A new poll in Iowa added further troubles to Sen. Bob Dole’s presidential campaign Thursday, showing him holding a badly shrunken lead over magazine publisher Steve Forbes.
The poll, conducted Monday and released Thursday by several Iowa television stations, showed 26% of people likely to vote in the state’s Feb. 12 Republican caucuses supporting Dole while 18% said they would support Forbes and 23% remained undecided.
Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and TV commentator Patrick J. Buchanan were bunched together at 7%. The poll of 300 Iowans has a margin of error of six points.
When he ran for president in 1988, Dole won 37% of the vote in Iowa. A significantly lower total this time around almost certainly would be interpreted as a sign of weakness on his part.
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