NEW YORK, March 6: US President George Bush would lose narrowly to a Democratic Party candidate if the US presidential election were held now because of concerns about possible war and the economy, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday.

The Feb. 26-March 3 nationwide survey of US voters by Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University found that by a 48 percent to 44 percent margin, voters would pick the as yet unknown candidate out of nine Democrats running over the Republican incumbent. The survey of 1,232 voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percent.

“This month, we find that an unnamed Democrat would edge out President Bush,” said Quinnipiac University Polling Institute director Maurice Carroll. “The political winds are hard to read this early, but we do know that war and a bad economy are not good for anyone, especially sitting presidents.”

Bush is expected to run for reelection in Nov. 2004. Nine Democrats have announced their intention to seek their party’s nomination.

Bush narrowly lost the popular vote to Democrat Al Gore in 2000 but became president by winning the decisive electoral college vote based on returns from the 50 states.—Reuters