Republican Bob Dole leads President Clinton in the U.S. president's race in Utah. But considering how poorly Clinton did in Utah four years ago, his standing now isn't that bad, the latest Deseret News/KSL poll shows.
Clinton finished third in Utah in 1992, getting just 25 percent of the vote to Ross Perot's 27 percent and then-President George Bush's 43 percent. Utah was the only state in the nation where Clinton finished third.Pollster Dan Jones & Associates found in a poll conducted several weeks ago that if the election were today, 40 percent would vote for Dole, the apparent Republican nominee, 34 percent favor Clinton and 9 percent like Perot. Only 12 percent were undecided, a rather low number.
While Perot has not announced yet for the presidency, his Reform Party is on the ballot in most states, including Utah, and the Texas billionaire says he will run under the party banner should party members ask him to do it.
Utah is a Republican state and has given its five electoral votes to the GOP presidential nominee for thirty years.
Clinton hasn't visited the state since his election (he came to address a veterans convention before the 1992 election). He may not visit this year, either.
State Republican and Democratic party officials say it is unlikely either Dole or Clinton will come here before the November election. (Dole held a fund-raiser in Utah earlier this year). However, there is another national convention of a veterans group scheduled at the Salt Palace in late summer and it is possible either Dole, Clinton or both could address that affair.
"They (the national candidates) wouldn't be coming to campaign in Utah as much as they might come for that convention," said Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party.
Clinton has not proven a popular president in Utah, and major Democratic candidates here say they're running on their own ideas and aren't asking and don't expect Clinton to come to campaign for them.
GOP candidates would love Dole to help them out in the state. But Utah is likely safely in Dole's corner, and he'll need to spend his time in states where he's in a close fight with Clinton.
Perot has visited Utah once a year or so the past several years. He addressed a University of Utah crowd late last year.
Jones found that Dole gets 48 percent of the LDS vote, Clinton only 25 percent. The race is already very partisan. Jones found that only 4 percent of Democrats support Dole, only 8 percent of Republicans like the president. Independents are split; 36 percent like Clinton, 21 percent Dole and 16 percent Perot.
In national polls, Clinton does much better among women than Dole. But that isn't seen in Utah. Jones found that 35 percent of women support Clinton, 42 percent support Dole.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Deseret News/KSL poll
If the election were held today, for which of the following candidates would you vote for president?
DEFINITELY CLINTON 22%
PROBABLY CLINTON 12%
DEFINITELY DOLE 24%
PROBABLY DOLE 16%
DEFINITELY PEROT 5%
PROBABLY PEROT 4%
OTHER 5%
UNDECIDED 12%
Poll conducted Mar. 26-28, 1996, 608 Utah residents. Margin of error +/-4%. Survey conducted by Dan Jones & Associates. Copyright 1996 Deseret News.