Dean is now in the lead-- in California

From Trippi's blast email "the latest Field Poll revealed that Howard Dean is now in the lead-- in California, the most populous state in the nation."

The man has got the mighty MO !!!

could you post the numbers? i cant find the poll joe's talking about

to Iowa and New Hampshire

Checked website for Field Poll and nothing posted there yet. Also checked online LA Times, SF Chronicle, and Sacramento Bee. I'm not doubting this is true--Trippi is too smart to come out with this information if he didn't have anything to back it up--but I think it is probably inside information and it hasn't yet been released to the public which is why Trippi couldn't give any numbers. I suspect sometime today or tomorrow the poll will be released and I will be greatly interested in what it says. With Dean coming on strong in Iowa (solid second in a poll released yesterday) and if indeed he leads in California (the state with the most delegates)then this is truly good news for the campaign. I'm intersted in seeing what the next batch of polls out of NH might show as well.

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Howard Dean has surged from the middle of the pack to join the top tier of Democratic presidential candidates in California, according to a new Field Poll that indicates growing momentum for the former Vermont governor.

The poll, released Tuesday, showed Dean is the choice of 16 percent of likely Democratic voters in California, followed by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at 15 percent and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., at 14 percent.

Because the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, the three candidates are essentially tied, meaning the race for California's haul of convention delegates in the March 2 primary is still up in the air. A third of respondents said they are undecided.

More: http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/6357156.htm

To go from fourth with 7% just three months ago to first with 16% is a good achievement--more than doubling his support. Still it is too close for comfort and while it is good news much work will have to be done to "close the deal."

remember that it is still very, very, very early. Plus, I don't how that poll was conducted, but, chances are, if it was via internet, that would give Dean a huge advantage, as that is where many of his supporters come from.

I do think it's a good idea to go out and get three more people signed up for every supporter we already have, though :)

I realize that this is a very early poll and doesn't mean much, but the good news is that it gives Dean more press here in California. I see that this poll was published in the SJ Mercury News, which is a newspaper with huge circulation here in the Bay Area.

Yesterday Dean was front and center, above the fold, on this newspaper, with an article about how his campaign is drawing in people who haven't been involved in politics before.

This means more people will know who I'm talking about when they see my bumpersticker on Highway 17...

The results of the poll (with the results of the last Field Poll on April 16th in parenthesis):

Dean 16% (7%)
Kerry 15% (16%)
Lieberman 14% (22%)
Gephardt 7% (12%)
Edwards 4% (3%)
Graham, Kucinich, Sharpton 3% (2%, 1%, 4%)
Moseley-Braun 2% (4%)

The poll, released today, showed Dean is the choice of 16 percent of likely Democratic voters in California, followed by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at 15 percent and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., at 14 percent.

Because the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points, the three candidates are essentially tied, meaning the race for California's haul of convention delegates in the March 2 primary is still up in the air. One-third of respondents said they are undecided.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/6356406.htm

Its a Field Poll...

Will ahve to wait for actually polling organizations to confirm...

Kerry is the only candidate who actually leads in any poll over Dean, as he is the only candidate who in a poll falls outside of the margin of error between him and Dean, the one from last month in New Hampshire.

A lead is only a lead, when the the differnce between the candidates fall outside of the margin or error.

:)