“The student vote could be very powerful in influencing the next election,” Glickman said. “But it all depends on turnout and other factors.”

Regardless of whether or not undergraduates choose to exercise their voting privileges, Glickman noted that the 2004 election has benefited from “a heightened level of student interest.”

“Even just our polling indicates that students are more engaged in this election than previous ones,” he said, adding that The Crimson’s results only substantiate this assertion.

The Dean of Democrats

Dean’s popularity among Harvard students is in line with national polling data.

The public consensus points to Dean as the Democratic favorite, with the former Vermont governor garnering support from 25 percent of Democratic adults surveyed in a mid-December Gallup poll.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., and Clark came in second and third among potential voters, drawing backing from 14 percent and 11 percent of those surveyed, respectively.

While Dean’s strong showing among students at the College mirrors the rest of the country, Glickman said it was Kerry’s third place finish that startled him.

“He’s from Massachusetts, so I thought he’d be closer to Dean than anyone else,” he said.

But President of Harvard Students for Kerry Nicholas F.B. Smyth ’05 said he wasn’t concerned by the Crimson polling data.

“The Harvard student body is in no way representative of Democrats in general; it is generally much more liberal,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Smyth, who is also a Crimson editor, said that for now, his group’s primary concern lies in ensuring that Kerry culls strong support “in primaries in New Hampshire and other early states.”

Student coordinator of Harvard Students for Clark Anat Maytal ’05 looked at the poll results favorably. Clark’s showing demonstrates that though he entered the race late, he could net more support over time, Maytal wrote in an e-mail. Maytal is also a Crimson editor.

And though Dean emerged as the preferred contender in the Crimson poll, Eli S. Rosenbaum ’05, another coordinator of the Harvard Students for Clark campaign, said that he thinks Clark will prove to be a viable opponent.

“Many thoughtful Democrats, especially on campus, are worried about supporting someone with more experience putting his foot in his mouth than conducting foreign policy,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Still, many who are angry at Bush have flocked to Dean like lemmings to a cliff. It’s not intentional political suicide, just evidence of a very misguided sense of how to win a presidential election.”

Rosenbaum also suggested that the mounting interest in Clark’s campaign following his visit to the college reflects a wider national trend.

“The more that people see and hear Clark, the more they like him,” he said.

But co-chair of Harvard Students for Dean Andrew M. Crespo ’05 attributes Dean’s widespread appeal to his openness.

“Harvard and the rest of the Democratic Party are getting behind Governor Dean because he is not afraid to speak his mind,” he wrote in an e-mail, adding that he believes Dean has also won support because of his respect for the typical “American Voter.”

—Staff writer Margaret W. Ho can be reached at mwho@fas.harvard.com.