ASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley widened his lead over Vice President Al Gore to 8.5 percent, beyond the margin of error, in the key state of New Hampshire, a Reuters/WHDH poll showed yesterday.
Bradley led Gore 45 percent to 36.5 percent in the survey of 602 likely voters in the Democratic Party primary scheduled for Feb. 1. Some 18.5 percent were undecided.
The survey of Democrats, conducted by Zogby International last weekend for Reuters and WHDH television in Boston, carried a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
''Bradley's lead is now outside the margin of error. Gore's support is steadily declining while Bradley's is increasing. Of greater significance, Bradley leads among most subgroups,'' said pollster John Zogby.
The New Hampshire primary is seen as crucial for both candidates because it is the first in the nation and is followed by a five-week hiatus before 14 states, including New York and California, vote March 7.
Nationally, Gore still leads Bradley in all polls but his advantage has been eroding and Bradley has moved into the lead in a number of northeastern states.
The poll contained other bad news for Gore. Asked to say, regardless of their own support, which candidate they thought would be their next president, only 15 percent of voters and only 30 percent of Democrats said Gore.
The number was even lower for Bradley - only 15 percent of Democrats and 10 percent of all voters expected him to win.
By contrast, 52 percent of voters, including 32 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of independents, thought Republican front-runner George W. Bush, the governor of Texas, would win.
In total, the poll included 402 registered Democrats, 462 Republicans and 346 independents. Under New Hampshire's rules, independents can vote in either the Republican or the Democratic primary and 200 said they intended to vote with the Democrats while 146 expected to vote with the Republicans.
