Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 22, 1991                   TAG: 9103220201
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

POLL: WAR VICTORY POLITICAL PLUS FOR GOP

"The military victory in the gulf has positioned Republicans to establish the GOP as the dominant national political party," the survey conducted by the Times Mirror Center for The People & the Press concluded.

The survey also said 47 percent of those responding said they would be less likely to vote for members of Congress who opposed a resolution backing the use of force to oust Iraq from Kuwait.

By a growing margin, more people identified themselves as Republicans than as Democrats. The GOP also had a 10-point lead over Democrats when people were asked which party they would like to see win in their congressional district.

On party identification, 36 percent said they considered themselves Republican; 29 percent called themselves Democrats; 35 percent identified themselves as independents or affiliated with other parties. Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 3 percentage points in a late-January Times Mirror poll, the first GOP lead since the organization began its surveys in 1986.

The greatest GOP gains were among young people, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by a margin of 41 percent to 21 percent among people under 30.

Fifty percent of those questioned said they would like to see a Republican win in their district if congressional elections were held today; 40 percent said they would prefer a Democratic victory.

"Republicans have never had a significant nationwide plurality in party affiliation or a meaningful lead in congressional voting intentions since before the Great Depression," said the survey.