The Heat on Dole

MANCHESTER, NH: A day after appearing on the covers of both TIME and Newsweek, Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes got some more good news Tuesday: a new poll shows him closing in on frontrunner Senator Robert Dole. The poll, conducted by the American Research Group, gave Dole a 30 to 22 percent margin among New Hampshire Republicans likely to vote in next month's primary. A similar poll by ARG a week ago gave Dole a 34 to 21 lead over Forbes. "This is significant for a couple of reasons," says TIME's Rod Paul. "First, it confirms what the media was showing with earlier polls, which is that Forbes was the "other guy" in the Republican race, that he was not only in second place with double-digit numbers, but was also beginning to move in on Dole. This new poll shows that Forbes ain't stopping. It's becoming a close race." The latest poll shows Pat Buchanan and Senator Phil Gramm trailing far behind, with 10 percent of voters supporting each of them.