Two weeks before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus, the U.S. presidential race, which is tightening among Democrats, is wide open on the Republican side, a new poll has found.
The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, released here Thursday, shows that Rudy Giuliani has lost his national lead in the Republican field after a flurry of negative publicity about his personal and business activities, setting the stage for what could be the party's most competitive nomination fight in decades.
After holding a double-digit advantage over his nearest rivals just six weeks ago, the former New York mayor is now tied nationally with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 20 percent among Republicans, just slightly ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 17 percent and Arizona Sen. John McCain at 14 percent.
Other polls show Giuliani's lead is shrinking in Florida, one of the states he has built his strategy around.
At the same time, Romney has fallen behind Huckabee in the leadoff Jan. 3 nominating contest in Iowa.
The results signal a dramatic shift in the nature of the Republican race: In a party with a history of rewarding established front-runners, there's no longer a front-runner of anykind.
In the other camp, the Democratic race has remained a more stable contest among the top contenders in the national rankings, with former first lady Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York maintaining a 22-percentage-point national lead over Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
But she faces an increasingly stiff challenge in Iowa and other early primary states from Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards.
In a one-on-one race between candidates from different parties, the poll shows Obama leading Giuliani by a larger margin than Clinton does.
Against Huckabee, Obama leads by 48 percent to 36 percent, while Clinton has a narrow 46 percent to 44 percent edge.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article