Strong Showing For Bradley

After losing by a wide margin to Vice President Al Gore in last week's Iowa caucuses, the CBS News exit poll indicates that former Senator Bill Bradley is giving Al Gore a run for his money in New Hampshire tonight.

While the Democratic presidential race remains too close to call, there are several key reasons why Bradley has been able to come from behind in New Hampshire and close the gap on Gore.

• New Hampshire independent voters are throwing their support in large numbers to Bradley. New Hampshire's all-important independent voters, who made up 30 percent of today's primary voters, voted for Bradley over Gore by 60 percent to 38 percent.
• Last-minute campaigning and television advertising has had a definite impact on the Democratic race. Late-deciders - those voters who decided which candidate to support on their way to the polls today or over the last three days - went 59 percent to 39 percent for Bradley.
• Union voters, which made up a third of caucus-goers in Iowa, constitute less than a quarter of voters in New Hampshire. This core Democratic group went overwhelmingly for Gore in both states, but their reduced numbers in New Hampshire meant diminished vote support for Gore.
• Even with Bradley's candid comments about his heart condition, only one in five primary voters felt that his health would interfere with his ability to serve effectively as president.

While the so-called "Clinton factor" is difficult to gauge in a Democratic primary, Bradley was the beneficiary of New Hampshire voters critical of President Clinton. Overall, the president's job approval rating is extremely high: 81 percent approve of the way he's handling his job. But New Hampshire Democratic primary voters are more critical of Mr. Clinton the person. By 55 percent to 42 percent, voters have an unfavorable opinion of the president as a person. And for the majority who held negative opinions of Mr. Clinton, 60 percent voted for Bradley. Also, the minority of voters who disapprove of the way Mr. Clinton is handling his job voted for Bradley over Gore by more than a 3-1 margin.

Voters were also asked how important Gore's ties to Mr. Clinton were in deciding how to vote. Nineteen percent described Gore's Clinton ties as very important, but not for the better: More than half who said this voted for Bradley.

THE RACE IS NOT OVER

As vote returns continue to come in, there are many exit poll results that show good news for Gore and Bradley. The outlook of New Hampshire's Democratic primary voters is overwhelmingly optimistic in terms of their personal finances, as well as the condition of the state's and country's economic standing. Both Gore and Bradley enjoy very high favorable ratings.