ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Heavily Democratic New York showed strong support for President Bush as the Republican outdistanced all potential Democratic challengers, including home-state Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to a poll released Thursday.
Bush's approval rating among New Yorkers rose to 58 percent from 50 percent in February, shortly before the U.S.-led war against Iraq. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute found that as a result of the war, 31 percent of New Yorkers said they were more likely to vote for Bush in 2004, 28 percent said they were less likely to vote for the Republican and 38 percent said their position had not changed.
A Republican has not won New York in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
The poll also found that Clinton, who has repeatedly said she intends to complete her Senate term and not run for president in 2004, had a 52 percent approval rating, and 59 percent of those polled wanted the New York lawmaker to pass on next year's presidential campaign.
Bush was favored 50 percent to 38 percent over two possible Democratic rivals, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. The president outpolled another candidate, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, 49 percent to 38 percent.
The poll surveyed 885 registered voters in New York state April 15-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
