State voter support for Bush dives

[cal04]

Kerry backing big, but it's leveling off
For the first time in his presidency, a majority of Illinois voters now hold an unfavorable opinion of President Bush and also disapprove of his performance in the White House, particularly his handling of the occupation of Iraq and an economy that many believe continues to lag, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.

Yet, even though the survey shows presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry continuing to hold a solid lead over Bush in Illinois, the Massachusetts senator's support appears to have leveled out despite the continued decline in the Republican president's ratings on key issues.

Still, the poll of 600 likely registered voters, conducted May 21-24, shows Kerry with a commanding 16 percentage-point lead over Bush in a head-to-head November matchup--54 percent to 38 percent. And even if independent Ralph Nader were to qualify for the Illinois ballot, Kerry maintains a 16 percentage-point lead over Bush--53 percent to 37 percent. Nader receives only 4 percent.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0405300185may30,1,4804774.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[benburch]

1. Illinois Republicans...

These guys are more likely to not vote for President than to vote for Kerry. This would explain the trend we see here.