NEW YORK, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A CBS News presidential poll released Tuesday shows U.S. President George Bush leads Democratic nominee John Kerry by just a 48 to 45 percent margin.
Independent candidate Ralph Nader received 2 percent support, and if he were not in the race, his supporters said they would vote for Kerry.
The slim differences reveal a "razor-close" race, as the results are within the poll's 3-point margin of error, the network said.
The majority of voters said they are focused on the issues, with 72 percent saying the candidates' stances on issues will determine their vote, while 18 percent pointed to the candidates' personal qualities.
Kerry has an advantage on the economy, with 53 percent saying they think if elected, Kerry would boost the number of jobs, while one-third said he would not. Voters are much less confident in Bush on this issue -- 39 percent said they think he would increase jobs if he is re-elected, but 54 percent said they would not expect an increase in a second Bush administration.
The network did not indicate how many people were contacted, although the normal sampling in their political polls is about 1,000 people contacted randomly by telephone.
