By Jeff Zeleny and John McCormick
Chicago Tribune staff reporters
Published October 13, 2004
CHICAGO -- Sen. John Kerry has improved his standing over President Bush in four Midwestern battleground states where domestic concerns of health care and the economy have overtaken the issues of terrorism and Iraq, a new Chicago Tribune poll shows.
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The separate, state-by-state polls found Kerry to hold slim leads over Bush in Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota, while Bush maintained a narrow advantage in Iowa. But the findings of the surveys, which questioned 500 likely voters in each state, fall within a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
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Of the four states, Bush's approval rating is lowest in Ohio, where factory closings and unemployment hang like a cloud over the president's re-election hopes. No Republican has made it to the White House without winning Ohio, and just two presidential candidates since 1892 have won without the state.
While many Republicans had recently believed that Bush was in good position in the state, the Tribune poll found that only 43 percent of likely voters in Ohio say they approve of the job Bush is doing, while 50 percent disapprove. Seven percent say they have no opinion.
Bush's approval rating is a few points higher in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, but remains below 50 percent in all three states.
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