Poll: Howard Dean Top Democratic Hopeful in California

A poll released today says former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is leading all Democratic presidential hopefuls in California. The poll from the nonpartisan Field Research Institute says Dean was favored by 16 percent of those likely to vote in the state Democratic primary next March.

Dean was followed closely by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.

33 percent of those polled say they have yet to make up their minds.

The poll says support for Dean in California has more than doubled since the last poll in April. At that time Dean had only 7 percent backing, far behind Lieberman´s 22 percent support.

The poll says Dean gets much of his support from men, college graduates and people who describe themselves as liberal.

The poll was conducted between July 1 and July 13. It surveyed 1,040 registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.