PRESIDENT OF the People's National Party (PNP), Portia Simpson Miller, will hit the ground in South West St. Elizabeth to shore up support for the party's candidate who, according to a Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll, is struggling in the race to take home a crucial seat won by parties forming the government since Independence.

The Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Dr. Christopher Tufton and the PNP's Reverend Stanley Redwood are gearing up to do battle at the polls in the upcoming election.

Respected pollster Johnson and his team, who polled 480 residents on March 10, found that Dr. Tufton would have the support of 42 per cent of registered voters as opposed to Redwood's 30 per cent if an election were called. The margin of error was plus or minus five per cent.

But Donald Buchanan, PNP general secretary, told The Gleaner yesterday that Mrs. Simpson Miller would be one of the main architects of the party's campaign when it begins.

"Not only will she be in South West St. Elizabeth or, for that matter, South East St. Catherine, she will be in almost every constituency and they are going to feel the connection that exists between our party leader and the people when that time comes," Mr. Buchanan contended.

The PNP general secretary argued that all the polls to date have indicated that Jamaicans want Mrs. Simpson Miller to continue as Prime Minister of Jamaica.

"All the polls have indicated that she has a wide lead over (Opposition Leader) Bruce Golding in every single poll," he stressed.