Press Release: Dean Leads in Iowa

From the Dean Campaign on Leading in Iowa...

For Immediate Release:
August 3, 2003

Statement from Iowans for Dean Campaign Manager Jeani Murray Regarding Today’s Release of The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll:
Poll shows Dean leads Democrats for first time in Iowa

Dean 23%, Gephardt 21%, Kerry 14%, Lieberman 10%

Des Moines—“Like other recent media polls, this shows the more people get to know Governor Dean the more they like him.

“Governor Dean has spent a considerable amount of time in Iowa this summer talking about the issues Iowans care about- health care coverage, creating jobs and national security. The people of Iowa appreciate a person who tells it like it is and who has a record of getting things done like Governor Dean.

“However, it is August and the Iowa Caucuses are more than five months away. This poll ensures one thing, the other campaigns – who have already begun to launch attacks on Governor Dean- will do and say anything they can to tear down the Governor over the next several months.

“We will continue to build the greatest grassroots campaign of the modern era based on the hope of restoring the American community. Nearly 20,000 Iowa caucus goers received handwritten letters in July from thousands of Americans across the country who support Governor Dean. Nearly 70,000 Americans, 725 Iowans, gather in restaurants and coffee shops every month through Meetup.com to organize their communities for Dean. We will continue to bring people together, to give people who have given up a reason to vote, and to make Democrats proud to be Democrats again.”

Poll Notes:

Details of the poll findings speak to the firm foundation of Dean support. Highlights include:

-Dean’s broad-based support: Among likely caucus participants, Dean is the first choice of 28% of those between the ages of 45 and 64, 28% of those from small cities, 28 percent of men, and 28% of those with college degrees.

-Dean’s solid support from labor: Dean is the first choice of 29 percent of likely caucus participants from house holds with a union member.

-“This isn’t so much of a niche candidacy as some people have wanted to portray it.” Comment from J. Ann Selzer, the Register’s pollster