Powell Would Be Front-Runner If He Joined Gop Race, Poll Says

If Colin Powell entered the Republican presidential race he would cut deeply into Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole’s support and could become the immediate leader, according to a new national poll.

In a Republican primary race against Dole, the front-runner, and the eight other prominent GOP candidates, Powell would earn 34 percent support to lead the field, the CBS News-New York Times poll found.

Dole’s support would be cut from 45 percent to 29 percent, placing him second.

Powell’s lead over Dole was within the poll’s five-point margin of error for the sampling of GOP primary voters, meaning they could be in a statistical dead heat.

Others were far behind in single digits, with or without Powell included in the question.

Powell, a retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, is weighing whether to join the field, and is expected to announce a decision by Thanksgiving.

Some confidants he consulted last week were left with the impression he intends to run.

Others said they still believe that after weighing his wife’s opposition and other considerations, Powell may well decide against subjecting himself to the risk and scrutiny of an uncertain campaign.

All signs are that if Powell enters the race, he will seek the GOP nomination rather than run as an independent.

His support of abortion rights has left conservative Republicans divided over his possible candidacy.

But among likely GOP primary voters in the survey, 76 percent said the Republican platform should avoid endorsing a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion.

The telephone poll was conducted Oct. 22-25.