Democrat John Kerry has a solid lead over US President George W. Bush among voters nation-wide, according to a Los Angeles Times poll on Thursday that cited widespread unease over the country's direction, Iraq policies and the economy.
Kerry, the US senator from Massachusetts, led Bush by 51 percent to 44 percent nationally in a two-way matchup, according to the poll of 1,230 registered voters taken from Saturday to Tuesday.
The figures dropped with independent Ralph Nader in the mix: Kerry drew 48 percent in a three-way race and Bush 42 percent, the poll showed.
Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd challenged the poll results as tilted in favour of the Democrats. "It is a mess," he told ABC News. "Bush is leading independents by three, ahead among Republicans by a larger margin than Kerry is ahead among Dems, and we are down by seven? Outrageous."
In the Los Angeles Times poll, majorities disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy and of Iraq, despite encouraging news on both recently.