rizona Senator John McCain holds a commanding lead over Governor George W. Bush among likely Massachusetts Republican presidential primary voters, while Vice President Al Gore has expanded his lead over Bill Bradley in the Democratic contest, a new University of Massachusetts poll shows.
The survey, taken between Saturday and Monday, gives McCain 58 percent of the GOP vote, with Bush getting 34 percent. Alan Keyes received 1 percent. The remainder were undecided in the poll sample of 400 Republicans and independents who expect to vote in the Republican primary.
In the Democratic contest, Gore, who trailed Bradley in a similar poll last October by an 8-percentage-point margin, now leads the former US senator by 50-to-35 percent, the UMass poll found in a separate sample. Another 15 percent were undecided.
Each sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. The state's presidential primary takes place March 7.
Lou DiNatale, the polls' director, said the McCain lead reflects the unprecedented switch in party registration by Democrats to Republican this year.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin announced Monday that as many as 30,000 voters have moved to the Republican or independent rolls in the weeks since McCain stunned Bush in New Hampshire's Feb. 1 primary.
The sampling for the UMass survey was begun after Bush was declared the winner of Saturday's South Carolina primary.
McCain's lead over Bush in the poll is based on his strong showing among independents. He leads the Texas governor by 43 to 28 percent among such voters.
Bush can find some good news in the poll. He maintains a better than 2-to-1 lead among those voters who describe themselves as ''mostly Republican.''
McCain's strong showing also seems to be undercutting Bradley's once strong position in Massachusetts. ''The independent bloc is currently heading to the Republican primary and that's bad news for Bradley,'' DiNatale said.
