Utahns may not be voting for Bill Clinton this year, but they certainly think he did better in the first presidential debate, a new Deseret News/KSL poll shows.
Tonight is the second and last debate between Clinton and GOP challenger Bob Dole. If the last debate is any indication, about 60 percent of Utahns will watch part or all of the debate tonight. (Of course, there is a baseball playoff game competing with this debate.)Pollster Dan Jones & Associates found in a survey taken just after the last debate 10 days ago that 60 percent of Utahns saw or heard part of the 90-minute debate, broadcast on a number of TV and radio stations.
Of those who watched all or some of the debate, 53 percent thought Clinton did a better job during the confrontation, only 18 percent thought Dole did better, 12 percent said neither did well and 10 percent thought both did well. Only 7 percent didn't have an opinion.
Interestingly enough, even though 53 percent thought Clinton did better, the president's debate performance didn't affect many votes.
Jones found that 14 percent said the debate made them more likely to vote for Clinton, while 17 percent said Dole's performance made them more likely to pick him.
Two-thirds said the debate didn't affect the way they'd vote one way or the other.
And that basically tracks along with other national polls. While many national political pundits put a lot of stock in the two or three debates presidential candidates have, national surveys show the debates don't change a lot of minds.
Utah appears safely in the Dole camp even though only 18 percent thought he won the last debate. Dole leads Clinton here by 9 percentage points - not a big lead - but historically Utah votes for the Republican presidential nominee. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the state two-to-one.
The last Democratic presidential nominee to win Utah was Lyndon Johnson 30 years ago.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Deseret News/KSL poll
In your opinion, who do you think did better in the first presidential debate - Clinton or Dole?
CLINTON 53%
DOLE 18%
NEITHER 12%
BOTH 10%
DON'T KNOW 7%
Did the first presidential debate make you feel more likely to vote for Dole or Clinton?
MORE CLINTON 14%
MORE DOLE 17%
NEITHER 66%
DON'T KNOW 4%
Sample size: 900
Margin of error +/-3.5%.
Poll conducted statewide Oct. 7-10, 1996, Survey conducted by Dan Jones & Associates.
Copyright 1996 Deseret News.