LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Democratic strength in traditionally Republican issues and a substantial gender gap are two key factors in the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, according to a Rider University political science poll.

Operation '96, a class at Rider taught by Dr. Frank Rusciano, recently conducted its third-annual random election survey of 235 Lawrenceville campus students that gave President Bill Clinton the edge in every issue over Republican challenger Bob Dole and independent candidate Ross Perot.

The respondents favored the President over Senator Dole, 59.5 percent to 20.3 percent, with Perot garnering 6.9 percent of the vote. The remaining 13.3 percent in the survey were undecided; but overall, 73 percent of students surveyed indicated that they intended to vote, which contrasts some national surveys indicating low voter interest in the election.

Even more striking than these numbers, though, is how the students rated the importance of current political issues and which of the two major party candidates is the better person to handle each issue.

"Clinton leads Dole in every issue in terms of evaluation, which is surprising in areas such as taxes, foreign affairs, inflation, drugs, and family values," said Rusciano, professor of political science. "These are traditional Republican issues. The poll shows that at least among our students, Clinton has been able to steal away much of the classic Republican agenda."

Students rated education (90.6 percent), health care (80.2 percent), and unemployment (73.6 percent) as the

three most important campaign issues. On these three issues, Clinton was judged the better person to deal with the

problem my margins of 56.9 percent, 40.4 percent, and 32 percent. The three least important issues cited by students were foreign affairs (43.6 percent), personal character (39.8 percent), and gay rights (28.6 percent). Even on these issues, Clinton's evaluations topped Dole's by 14.2 percent, 26.2 percent, and 50.6 percent.

Dole's deficit on the Rider campus shows a striking parallel to the results of national polls of likely or registered voters. First, a clear gender gap is evident in the Rider poll, as women on campus prefer Clinton over Dole by a resounding 51.0 percent margin, with men preferring Clinton by a smaller, but still significant 22.9 percent.

Second, the results mirror Dole's national problem of shoring up his electoral base. Only 52.9 percent of those surveyed who identified themselves as Republican or leaning Republican said they would vote for Dole; in contrast, 95.8 percent of Democrats said they would vote for Clinton. Moreover, 86.2 percent of participants who voted or would have voted for Clinton in 1992 stated he was their choice in 1996, while only 42.9 percent of those who supported George Bush in 1992 said they would vote for Dole.