The Republican battle for the Iowa caucuses is heating up, as former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, long thought a "second-tier" candidate, is closing on leader Mitt Romney, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll:
While Romney still holds the lead at 27 percent in the poll, Huckabee comes in a strong second at 21 percent, with a 5 percent margin of error.* * * * *
In the poll, Rudy Giuliani was in third in Iowa at 15 percent. All other candidates were in single digits, including Fred Thompson, who had 9 percent support among likely caucus-goers.
Read the whole report at the above link. While Huckabee did finish second to Romney in the Ames Straw Poll in August, his result was tainted by the refusal of supposed "first tier" candidates Giuliani and McCain to seriously contest the event, which is essentially a fund-raiser for the Iowa GOP (Fred Thompson had not formally entered the Presidential race yet). Huckabee has made the most of the diminished "bump" his campaign got from his finish, though, and is apparently gaining on Romney, who has led most Iowa polls since the campaign began in earnest early this year.
The Real Clear Politics average of recent polls in the state show Romney leading with 30.2, Huckabee second with 17.4, and Giuliani third with 13.4% support. Huckabee has placed second in the four most recent polls. Any long-shot scenario of him winning the nomination begins with a strong showing in Iowa.
On the Democratic side, the three leaders remain in a dead heat, with the separation between Hillary Clinton, Obama, and Edwards within the margin of error.
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2008 Presidential Race, Huckabee, Iowa, Polls, Primaries, Republican
Tags: Huckabee, Iowa, presidential campaign, primaries, Republicans
