President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry, in a race dividing Americans far more along lines of cultural values than economic interests, remain locked in a dead heat one week before election day, a Times Poll has found.

Whether measured among all registered voters or only those viewed as most likely to vote - and with or without independent Ralph Nader in the mix - the poll finds Kerry and Bush in a statistical tie.

Among likely voters, Bush and Kerry each draws 48%, with Nader attracting 1%, and 3% undecided. Without Nader, Bush leads Kerry 49% to 48% among likely voters, with 3% undecided.

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The Times Poll, supervised by director Susan Pinkus, surveyed 1,698 registered voters, of which 881 were deemed likely to vote, from last Thursday through Saturday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for both groups.

The poll uses a series of questions to determine those respondents most likely to vote, but unlike some other recent national surveys it found little difference in the preferences of that group and all registered voters.

Among the larger group of all registered voters, a three-way race is still tied: Bush and Kerry each draw 47%, with Nader attracting 1%. In a two-way race, Kerry leads Bush among these voters by 48% to 47% - a statistically insignificant margin, as with Bush's one percentage point lead among likely voters without Nader included.

Posted by: Jonathan Singer / 8:32 PM | Basie! Home