Congressional Election Poll

Almost two-thirds of Americans say Clinton-Lewinsky not a factor in vote

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Almost two-thirds of Americans say President Bill Clinton's legal troubles will not be a factor in their vote next Tuesday in congressional elections, a poll suggests at a time Republicans are pouring $10 million into advertising linked to the controversy.

Instead, the likely voters in an Associated Press poll say they are interested in issues like education, health care and the economy. And while voters say the Clinton scandal won't influence their vote, they do say moral values are a top concern.

The telephone survey of 1,010 adults was taken by ICR/International Communications Research of Media, Pennsylvania. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Among likely voters, the error margin was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Democrats say their priorities of education, health care and Social Security are in line with voters' chief concerns as reflected in the polls. But Roy Romer, general chairman of the Democratic National Committee, conceded Wednesday that he's worried about the amount of money poured into the Republican scandal-related ads.

Republicans maintain their new ad campaign is issue-oriented, despite a focus on the investigation of Clinton's relationship with Ms. Lewinsky.

"We're not focusing on Lewinsky at all, we're focusing on Bill Clinton," said Rep. John Linder of Georgia, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "Bill Clinton symbolizes more government, more taxes, more spending."

The AP poll indicated the race for Congress has grown very competitive, making large gains more difficult for either party next week.

But almost two-thirds of likely voters, 64 percent, say they disapprove of the way Congress has handled the Clinton-Lewinsky matter, according to the latest poll.

A similar number, 63 percent, said the Clinton matter will not be a factor in their vote. The remainder was split between voting to reflect their support or opposition to Clinton.

Republican strategists who helped produce the anti-Clinton ads say the campaign is not designed to make the election a referendum on Clinton, who faces impeachment proceedings in November. Instead, they hope to use the omnipresent scandal to amplify their broader message: A Republican Congress is a check against a Democratic president who can't be trusted.

Democrats say the Republicans are shifting focus because the Democrats have the upper hand on the issues. Linder said top Republican issues are taxes, crime and welfare while Romer cited education, health care and Social Security as top Democratic issues.

Education was the top issue of concern to the likely voters, 28 percent, followed by moral values at 22 percent, health care at 17 percent and the economy at 14 percent. Nine percent of the likely voters said taxes were the top issue and a similar number chose crime.

About a third of Republicans, 32 percent, considered moral values to be the top issue, followed by education at 26 percent. Nine percent of Democrats in the poll said moral values was the top issue.