June 13, 2004

Kerry/Edwards 2004?

With the Presidential election stalking upon us within the next several months and John Kerry having not publicly decided/announced who his running mate in November will be, the Associated Press had a poll conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs, which found that a possible Kerry/Edwards ticket in November held a slight advantage, but still within the sampling error of 3.5%, polling at 47% versus 44% for Bush/Cheney.

John Edwards, the current senior Senator from North Carolina, was a relative unknown in the primary race, with the Dean Machine dominating headlines, until he placed a very strong second in the Iowa caucuses. Repeated strong performances helped to keep Edwards in the running until Super Tuesday, where several dominating efforts by Kerry's campaign led to a Kerry sweep and forced Edwards to bow out.

Edwards will not be seeking re-election to the Senate this year, creating a must-win situation for the Democrats in the state so that they may keep a slight balance of power in the Senate. Democrats currently hold 48 seats in the Senate, Republicans 51, and one Independent (Sen. James Jeffords, VT).

The popular notion of Senator John McCain (R) of Arizona running with Kerry, though very nearly impossible with Senator McCain's repeated assertions of loyalty to the Republican party and that he would not seek the Vice Presidency, sweeps away Bush/Cheney, 53% to 39%, perhaps reflecting a desire in the majority of America to see a return to bipartisanship.

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