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Presidential race tightens in Nevada

Monday, July 26, 2004 5:54 PM PDT

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The presidential race in Nevada has tightened significantly and is beginning to reflect its national status as a battleground state, according to a statewide poll of likely voters conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Republican ticket of George Bush and Dick Cheney led the Democratic ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards 46 percent to 43 percent. Seven percent were undecided, and 4 percent went for Ralph Nader, who's heading the independent ticket.

That's significantly closer than a similar poll conducted in March, which showed Bush up 49 percent to 38 percent over Kerry with 9 percent undecided.

The poll of 625 voters was conducted from Tuesday to Thursday by Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Some factors that could tip the state for Bush include Nevada's strong economy and Nader's potential to take votes away from Kerry. But Kerry could nullify Bush's edge on those fronts as a result of the Yucca Mountain issue, the poll suggests.

Voters were asked whether Bush's approval of Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository would make them more likely or less likely to vote for him, or if it would have no influence in their decision.

Statewide, a majority of voters said it would have no effect on their presidential vote. But among undecided voters, 31 percent said they would be less likely to vote for Bush because of his Yucca Mountain decision.

"Yucca really kind of jumps out as an issue," pollster Brad Coker said. "It could be the Achilles' heel for Bush because among that little group of undecided voters, by about a 3-to-1 margin, it's working against him."

Kerry voted consistently against Yucca Mountain in the Senate and has vowed to halt the project if he is elected.

Steve Wark, a Republican political consultant who said he aided the effort to get Nader on the ballot in Nevada, said he thinks Nader can also help the president.

"Any third party candidate with appeal to an electorate will garner some votes in the general election and most of the votes that Ralph Nader will garner will come from Democrat leaning voters," Wark said.

Coker also said Kerry gained from increased public concerns about the war in Iraq and from his selection of Edwards as his running mate.

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