WASHINGTON, July 26 (AFP) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry inched ahead in the midwestern state of Ohio, while President George W. Bush was leading in Florida, poll results showed Monday, as the Democrats prepared to open their national convention.
The two candidates were running neck-and-neck in Missouri, according to the CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll of the three states, all considered key to victory in the November 2 election.
Bush won razor-thin victories in all three states in 2000, most controversially in Florida where the contest eventually went to the US Supreme Court, which declared him the winner by only 537 votes.
The latest poll showed Bush ahead in Florida with 49 percent against Kerry's 45 percent in Florida.
In Ohio, Kerry had a similar lead of 49 percent to Bush's 44 percent. But in Missouri, the two were locked in a statistical dead heat with Kerry at 48 percent and Bush at 46 percent.
The economy was the most important issue to voters in all three states, ahead of terrorism, Iraq and health care, the poll found.
The findings came as Democrats prepared to kick off their convention, which will officially name Kerry as the party's candidate.
Pollsters questioned between 775 and 869 registered voters in each state from July 19 to 22. The results have a margin of error of 4 to 5 percentage points.