CAMPAIGN ’88 : Dukakis Narrows Gap in New CBS News Poll

Michael S. Dukakis pulled to within 7 points of George Bush in a national survey, CBS News reported Friday, trimming Bush’s lead from 12 points in a CBS poll just three days earlier.

With four days until Election Day, Dukakis narrowed the gap by improving his standing among older Americans and by attracting two-thirds of the voters who decided this week, the poll found.

There was room for other changes: Of the 1,343 probable voters who were surveyed from Tuesday through Thursday, 24% either said they could change their minds, merely leaned toward a candidate or were undecided.

The poll put the race at 51% to 44%, including leaners. In CBS’ poll conducted last Saturday through Monday, Bush led 53% to 41%. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Here are some recent poll results from individual states:

--California (47 electoral votes): Mervin Field’s California Poll, conducted Monday through Wednesday, showed Bush with a 49% to 43% lead. The survey of 1,160 registered voters has a 3-point margin of error. A smaller statewide poll--the sample was 600 voters--by the Examiner and station KTVU in San Francisco showed Bush ahead 49% to 44%. That poll was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday.

--Pennsylvania (25 electoral votes): An ABC-TV “Good Morning America” poll conducted among 503 likely voters Wednesday and Thursday showed Bush leading 49% to 46%. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

--Michigan (20 electoral votes): A Detroit News poll of 1,021 registered voters gave Bush a 48% to 44% lead; the margin of error was 3 points.