CORRECTED -- Voters Give Conflicting Answers on Early Democratic Primary Poll

At least 60% of Democrats in the three [early vote] states said it was important that the Democratic nominee be someone who had opposed the Iraq war from the outset.

EL -- The LA Times gets this from a table on page 14. They ignore the table on page 12 which shows this had only 35 - 41% support versus someone who supported the war but was critical of Bush's failure to get an international coalition which had 50 - 59%.

And at least 75% in each state said they wanted the nominee to be someone who was "frustrated with Democratic leaders in Washington who failed to oppose Bush."

In all three states, voters split almost in half when asked whether Democrats should seek to repeal all of Bush's tax cuts or retain the portions aimed at the middle class. Gephardt and Dean have advocated a total repeal, while Kerry, Lieberman, Edwards and Clark have said they would eliminate only the cuts that benefit the more affluent.

The poll underscored cultural and educational differences among the states. For instance, the survey found 61% of Democratic voters in South Carolina said they attend religious services every week, compared with 22% in New Hampshire and 43% in Iowa. Also, 60% of New Hampshire Democrats were college graduates, compared with 39% in South Carolina and 44% in Iowa.

Those contrasts could significantly affect the race because the poll found that the leading candidates are drawing much of their support from different sectors of the population.

Like other "outsider" candidates before him, Dean found support with college graduates. Gephardt, who has stressed populist issues in his campaign, appealed to voters without a college degree.

The Democracy Corps was founded by three prominent Democrats — Greenberg, media consultant Robert Shrum and strategist James Carville. Since Bush's election, the group has tried to influence Democratic leaders through a series of public "strategy memos" based on polls and focus groups. Greenberg and Carville are neutral in the 2004 race; Shrum, who is advising Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, did not participate in the poll.

The Poll - pdf.