Challenger (Kerry) ahead in 11 of 16 (key states)

A new poll in 16 "battleground" states where the presidential election of 2004 likely will be decided shows Democrat John Kerry holding advantages over President Bush in 11 states and Bush holding edges over Kerry in four.

In Florida, the contest remains a dead heat, according to the survey released Tuesday by Zogby International.

As much as Bush has pounded Kerry -- the Bush campaign has aired more than $52 million of television ads in these 16 states since early March, most tarring Kerry as untrustworthy -- the Democratic senator is holding his own against the president.

"If these numbers are correct, the Republicans are probably a little disappointed," said Ken Goldstein, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project. The president's commercials clearly have helped define Kerry in the minds of many voters, experts say. This new survey shows 51 percent of likely voters in Florida holding a negative impression of Kerry, and 48 percent holding a favorable impression. Similarly stark lines are drawn in the battleground states of Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where voters are divided nearly 50-50 in their positive and negative views of Kerry. Campaign ads have flooded all of these states.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2600073

Good man

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