Published January 14, 2015
John Kerry (search) has reclaimed a healthy lead in Democratic-leaning New Jersey, where he holds a double-digit lead over President Bush, according to a Quinnipiac University (search) poll released Thursday.
The poll, taken after the Democratic National Convention (search), found Kerry with the backing of 49 percent, Bush with 36 percent and independent Ralph Nader with 6 percent.
In a late June Quinnipiac poll, Kerry had 46 percent, Bush 40 percent and Nader 7 percent.
Democrat Al Gore won the state by 15.8 percentage points in 2000.
"This is the kind of lead you expect a Democratic candidate to have in Democratic New Jersey," said Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Kerry's popularity increased after the convention, with 38 percent now viewing him favorably and 25 percent unfavorably. Bush was viewed favorably by 34 percent and unfavorably by 43 percent.
Terrorism and security were picked as the top issues by voters, followed by Iraq and then the economy and jobs.
Those polled said Kerry was the best candidate to deal with Iraq and the economy, but they said Bush would do a better job handling terrorism.
The poll, conducted July 30 to Aug. 2, surveyed 996 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/poll-kerry-registers-bounce-in-new-jersey