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Sen. John Kerry holds a slim lead over President Bush among New Hampshire voters, and voters here trust Kerry to do a better job in Iraq and on the economy, according to the latest Monitor poll.

The poll gave Kerry a 3-point lead over Bush, 49 percent to 46 percent. Independent candidate Ralph Nader had the support of 2 percent, while 3 percent of likely voters said they were undecided. A similar Monitor poll earlier this month gave Kerry a 4-point lead, while the candidates were tied in September.

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More voters said they trusted Bush to protect the country from another terrorist attack - 52 percent for Bush and 42 percent for Kerry. But Kerry scored better on resolving the Iraq war and managing the economy. Forty-seven percent of voters said Kerry would handle Iraq better, while 42 percent said Bush would do a better job there. On the economy, 48 percent favored Kerry while 46 percent preferred Bush.

More voters also said they thought Kerry "cares more about people like you."

Del Ali, a pollster with Research 2000, said Kerry's slight lead was due in part to his ability to separate the war in Iraq from the war on terrorism in voters' minds. Bush has often referred to Iraq as a central front in the fight against terrorists. Kerry has criticized Bush's handling of the postwar occupation of Iraq and said it was a distraction from America's fight against al-Qaida. More voters in New Hampshire agree with Kerry's view, Ali said.

"If (Kerry) was not able to separate Iraq from the war on terror, Bush would be walking away in New Hampshire," Ali said.

Bush and Kerry have run closely in New Hampshire polls for most of the year. Bush won the state narrowly in the 2000 election, defeating then-Vice President Al Gore by just 7,000 votes, making it the lone New England state to go for Bush that year. The Bush campaign has made holding onto New Hampshire in 2004 a priority.

Democrats have also focused on New Hampshire this year, ever since Kerry won the state convincingly in the Democratic presidential primary in January.

The outcome could depend on which candidate does a better job getting his supporters to go to the polls on Tuesday. Both campaigns are hitting New Hampshire hard this weekend. Bush visited Manchester yesterday, while Kerry will be in the state tomorrow.

"There's no minds left to be made up," said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. "This election will be all about turnout and mobilization."

(Daniel Barrick can be reached at 224-5301, ext. 322, or by e-mail at dbarrick@cmonitor.com.)

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By DANIEL BARRICK

Monitor staff