Vice-President Al Gore's once-commanding lead in the presidential race over Governor George W. Bush in California has shrunk to five points amid a surge of support for the Green Party candidate, Mr Ralph Nader, according to a poll released yesterday.
The survey, from the Public Policy Institute of California, said Mr Gore led the Texas governor 44 per cent to 39 per cent in the race for the nation's biggest electoral prize. The Vice-President's five-point margin was down from nine points in September.
But while Mr Gore's support slid from 48 per cent, the dip has not translated into potential November 7th election day votes for Mr Bush, whose backing remained at 39 per cent, the poll said. Instead, Mr Nader, the consumer rights activist who Democrats fear could siphon off a chunk of the state's liberal vote, seemed to be benefiting as his support rose to 6 per cent from 4 per cent in the previous month, the survey said.
"The race in California is less stable than anyone expected," said poll director Mr Mark Baldassare. "It is here that Nader could most affect Gore's chances for a victory."
Mr Baldassare said the presidential debates did not seem to help California voters make up their minds, and the major party candidates still had an opportunity to connect with the electorate. The survey questioned 2,007 likely voters between October 11th and 18th and had an overall margin of error of plus or minus two points.
The presidential race in general is so tight that some political scientists have begun preparing for the possibility that one of the candidates, possibly Mr Bush, could win the popular vote and still lose the election, something that last happened in 1888.