For immediate release
Contact: UW-Madison Professor Ken Goldstein, 608-263-2390
Contact: WisPolitics Editor Jeff Mayers, 608-441-8418

(Wisconsin Voter Lists provided the sample for this poll -- see bottom)

Madison, Wis. -- Wesley Clark led nine other Democratic presidential candidates in a poll of likely 2004 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary voters earlier this week. But the highest percentage of those polled -- 32 percent -- were undecided five months before the Feb. 17, 2004 Wisconsin primary. Furthermore, almost eight in 10 voters surveyed (79 percent) said their vote preference could change in the coming months.

Clark, who entered the race as the poll coincidentally was going into the field, received the support of 18 percent of the core Democratic voters polled. Next was Joe Lieberman at 14 percent. Howard Dean garnered 13 percent, and Dick Gephardt scored 11 percent. No other candidates registered double-digits.

Respondents who initially called themselves undecided were asked if they leaned toward any of the candidates. When leaners were included, the top finishers were the same: Clark, Lieberman, Dean and Gephardt.

This is the first public scientific poll of likely Democratic primary voters in Wisconsin. The poll was sponsored by WisPolitics.com, the state's premier online government and political news source at w, the law firm of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., and Capitol Consultants. More polls are planned during the upcoming election season.

The poll of 405 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted under the direction of UW-Madison political scientist Ken Goldstein, who has done national polling and consulting work. The telephone poll, conducted Sept. 21 through Sept. 23, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

Commenting on the results, Goldstein said, "These Wisconsin numbers are consistent with what we are seeing in national polling. Wesley Clark had a very good week of publicity and has shown some initial strength." Still, Goldstein said, "The race remains tight and fluid with almost one in three voters saying they are undecided and almost eight in 10 voters saying that they could change their mind."

"These early results show the important early Wisconsin primary will be very competitive and could prove pivotal in who becomes the Democratic nominee," added Jeff Mayers, editor and president of WisPolitics.com.

Dean won the unscientific WisPolitics.com/Hotline straw poll at the state Democratic convention in June, and his campaign has been aggressively organizing supporters. The campaigns of John Kerry and John Edwards also have announced paid campaign staff in the state. Various candidates, including Lieberman, have made Wisconsin appearances at fundraisers and other events. Go to this page at www.wispolitics.com for background on the presidential primary: h

The Wisconsin primary is Feb. 17, 2004. It's an open primary, meaning any person -- regardless of party affiliation -- may vote in the primary election.

Q. IF THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR PRESIDENT WERE HELD TODAY, WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR?

Wesley Clark       18% 
Joseph Lieberman   14% 
Howard Dean        13% 
Dick Gephardt      11% 
John Kerry          7% 
Carol Mosley Braun  3% 
John Edwards        1% 
Al Sharpton         1% 
Dennis Kucinich     1% 
Bob Graham          0%
Undecided          32%

Lieberman, Al Gore's running mate in 2000, was the best-known of the declared candidates (only 8 percent didn't recognize his name) while Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, was the least-known candidate among core Wisconsin Democrats (48 percent didn't recognize his name). A quarter of those polled didn't recognize Clark's name, but 16 percent had a very favorable opinion of him, 22 percent had a somewhat favorable opinion, 8 percent had a somewhat unfavorable opinion and 3 percent had a very unfavorable opinion.

Hillary Clinton's favorable-unfavorable rating was tested, too, even though she's not a declared candidate. Nearly everyone polled recognized her name, and 34 percent had a very favorable opinion, 39 percent had a somewhat favorable opinion, 12 percent had a somewhat unfavorable opinion and 8 percent had a very unfavorable opinion.

Respondents were drawn from a list of known voters who cast ballots in the 2002 September primary, when an important Democratic gubernatorial primary occurred. A private company called Wisconsin Voter Lists compiled the list of September 2002 primary voters. Wisconsin doesn't have party registration.