JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A University of North Florida poll released Tuesday finds that President George W. Bush has a solid lead over Democratic challenger John Kerry among likely Duval County voters, but most are still undecided about who should replace Bob Graham in the U.S. Senate.

The polling results show Bush/Cheney has the same margin over Kerry/Edwards as that of the actual election results for Bush and Democrat Al Gore in the election results of 2000 for Duval County.

UNF POLL RESULTS If the general election were held today, for whom would you vote? Bush/Cheney 54% Kerry/Edwards 37% Nader 2% Someone else, undecided, refused 7% The Republican primary for U.S. Senator in Florida will be held in August. As of today, would you vote for: Undecided 55% Mel Martinez 12% Bill McCollum 10% Doug Gallagher 8% Johnnie Byrd 5% Karen Saull 2% Larry Klayman 0% Someone else 4% Refused 4% The Democratic primary for U.S. Senator in Florida will be held in August. As of today, would you vote for: Undecided 50% Betty Castor 23% Peter Deutsch 7% Alex Penelas 2% Someone else 16% Refused 2%

Of those surveyed in July, 54 percent said they would vote for Bush/Cheney if the election were held today, while 37 percent would vote for Kerry/Edwards, with 2 percent voting for Ralph Nader, and 7 percent voting for someone else or undecided.

"The presidential race is about where it was four years ago, with a 17 percent point difference between the Republican candidate and Democratic candidate," UNF professor Matthew Corrigan said. "This highlights the importance of turnout on both sides to either expand or cut the margin of difference for the race in November."

But many Duval County voters remain undecided in the U.S. Senate primary races, according to the poll conducted by the Public Opinion Research Laboratory, part of the Southern Politics Project at UNF. The project tracks demographic trends in Southern politics, especially racial, cultural and economic issues.

More than half of registered Republicans said they were undecided about whom they would vote for in the primary. Of the six named GOP candidates, the top selection in this poll was Mel Martinez, with only 12 percent.

In the Democratic primary, 50 percent of registered Democrats said they were undecided. Among the three candidates, 23 percent of respondents said they would vote for Betty Castor; 7 percent for Peter Deutsch; and 2 percent for Alex Penelas. Sixteen percent said they would vote for someone else, while 2 percent refused to answer.

The poll also asked voters about city government issues, including the upcoming Super Bowl. When asked if they approved of the job John Peyton is doing as mayor of Jacksonville, 67 percent approved and 10 percent disapproved.

City Council has majority approval of those polled, but it didn't receive quite the vote of confidence the mayor did. Fifty-nine percent of respondents approved of the City Council's job, while 17 percent disapproved.

Overall, the respondents felt the city is prepared to host a successful Super Bowl in February, with 26 percent strongly agreeing and 30 percent somewhat agreeing. Eighteen percent somewhat disagreed and 20 percent strongly disagreed that the city was prepared.

Respondents also strongly agreed with the statement that Jacksonville is a good place to operate a business, with 62 percent strongly agreeing and 25 percent somewhat agreeing.

The Southern Politics poll also tallied data about the importance of religious beliefs in politics; current national issues; strength of the political parties in Duval County; and Jacksonville voters' view of Republican presidents and Democratic presidents.

Full results and a breakdown of the methodology of the survey and demographics of the respondents is available at: www.unf.edu/development/news/inthenews/index.html.