Huckabee emerges as GOP front-runner, Obama catching Clinton: poll

Japan Policy & Politics, Dec 8, 2007

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 Kyodo

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has emerged as a strong front-runner among Republican candidates ahead of the Iowa caucuses, a crucial prelude to the 2008 U.S. presidential election, according to a fresh Newsweek poll.

The Dec. 5-6 telephone interviews with 1,408 registered Iowa voters found that Huckabee has topped former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and other GOP candidates in the race to win the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.

The poll said Huckabee polled 39 percent among likely GOP caucus-goers, compared with 17 percent for his closest rival Romney. In the previous Newsweek survey in September, Huckabee got only 6 percent against then front-runner Romney's 25 percent.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani saw his support drop to 9 percent from 15 percent, former actor and Sen. Fred Thompson was down to 10 percent from 16 percent, and Sen. John McCain down to 6 percent from 7 percent, the latest poll shows.

In the Democratic race, Sen. Barack Obama is closely trailing front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton among all Democratic voters by 29 percent to 30 percent, the new poll said, adding that former Sen. John Edwards was at 21 percent.

Among those most likely to attend the caucuses, Obama beat Clinton by 35 percent to 29 percent, while Edwards was third at 18 percent, the latest poll found.

The poll has an overall margin of error of 3 percent.