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By Associated PressWhen pollsters asked voters to choose between just Bush and Kerry, the challenger enjoyed a slight lead.
President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry are in a close race for Florida's 27 electoral votes, according to a new poll.
Bush and Kerry each received the backing of 43 percent of 1,209 registered voters responding to a telephone poll conducted June 23-27 by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute of Connecticut, while independent candidate Ralph Nader got 5 percent.
Asked to choose only between Kerry and Bush, respondents gave Kerry 46 percent and Bush 44 percent, within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Voters were evenly split on having a favorable or unfavorable view of Bush and Kerry, the poll found.
"Both Bush and Kerry have sharply polarized the Florida voters," said Quinnipiac's Clay Richards. "At this stage in the campaign, Florida voters don't like either of the candidates very much."
However, most of those questioned had already made up their minds - strongly along party lines. Independent voters leaned toward Kerry, 40 percent to 37 percent.
On the ability to deal with terrorism, respondents strongly favored Bush, 53 percent to 37 percent. But they said it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq by a 49 percent to 42 percent response.
Nearly 40 percent of respondents rated the economy as the most important issue in making up their mind on a candidate and said Kerry would do a better job with it, by a 49 percent to 43 percent response.
Terrorism was rated the most important issue by 29 percent, while 25 percent said it was Iraq.
Women and blacks favor Kerry; whites, Hispanics and men prefer the president.
"It absolutely shows this state is very winnable for Sen. Kerry," said Gwen Graham, the state Democratic Party's liaison with the Kerry campaign. Gov. Jeb Bush said he thinks Florida's strong economy will pay off for his older brother.
"Most of the polls have showed the race is in a dead heat and my guess is that it will be that for a while until the economy and its impact on people's psyche sinks in," the governor said. "Florida is leading the nation in job growth. I think that will bode well for the president."