Washington, D.C. – Iraq is the top issue that Americans say will influence their votes for Congress next week, according to a CNN poll released Wednesday.
Eighty-eight percent of respondents said the Iraq war was “extremely important” or “very important” to their Nov. 7 vote, according to the poll.
In a CNN poll a month ago, 81 percent said the situation in Iraq was extremely or very important. Terrorism was the No. 2 issue, with 80 percent of those surveyed ranking it extremely important or very important.
Ethics in government was extremely or very important for 72 percent of respondents, the poll said.
Sixty-seven percent found the situation in North Korea extremely or very important.
The survey of 1,014 adult Americans was conducted by telephone Oct. 27-29 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
In a separate CBS News/New York Times poll Wednesday, 52 percent of likely voters would support a Democratic House candidate, and 34 percent would vote for a Republican should the election be held today.
Additional political news briefs:
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
Schwarzenegger set for sequel, poll shows
Apparently secure in his base, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has wooed traditionally Democratic constituencies to open up a 16-point lead over Democrat Phil Angelides just a week before Election Day, according to a Field Poll released Wednesday.
LAS VEGAS
Allegations hurting Republican candidate
Rep. Jim Gibbons has a slight lead over his Democratic opponent for Nevada governor, according to the first statewide poll conducted since a woman accused the Republican of assaulting her in a parking garage.
Fewer than one in six likely voters interviewed said they think the allegations are true, but the poll published Wednesday indicated that the lead Gibbons held last month over state Sen. Dina Titus has largely evaporated.
Forty-four percent of 625 likely voters surveyed for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and television station KVBC said they support Gibbons, while 40 percent said they favor Titus.
The survey, conducted from Oct. 26 through Monday by Washington-based Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc., had a sampling-error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The race has been rocked by claims from cocktail waitress Chrissy Mazzeo that Gibbons accosted her in a parking garage last month after a night of drinking at a Las Vegas bar.
CHEYENNE
Governor’s campaign leads in money race
Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s campaign continues to hold a strong financial lead over that of Republican challenger Ray Hunkins.
Both campaigns filed financial reports Tuesday covering campaign receipts from Aug. 23 to Oct. 24.
When combined with earlier reports, the new filings show Freudenthal has raised more than $1.1 million since the start of his re-election campaign, while Hunkins has raised just over $420,000.
For the latest two-month reporting period, Freudenthal’s report shows over $264,000 in contributions from individuals, more than $77,000 in contributions from political action committees and over $12,000 in in- kind contributions.
Together with some miscellaneous receipts, the total for the period exceeded $357,000.
WASHINGTON
Big spenders: Dems in Ariz., GOP in Md.
The national parties sought to shake up Senate races in two states Wednesday, with Democrats pumping about $1 million into Arizona and Republicans spending about the same in Maryland.
Less than a week before the election, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is spending money to help defeat Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, once considered a favorite to win re-election in Arizona.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee put its money on Maryland’s Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele to win the Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes.
The parties had narrowed their primary battlegrounds, with both spending millions on ads in New Jersey, Tennessee, Missouri and Virginia.
