Published: January 02, 2008
Huckabee Lead Over Romney Sliced to Two Points: Reuters/Zogby Poll
Editor: Alan Gray, Newsblaze
Reuters/C-Span/Zogby Iowa Daily Tracking Poll
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Republican race in Iowa tightened, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sliced to two points, 28 percent to 26 percent.
Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson were tied for third at 12 percent.
The rolling poll of 907 likely Republican caucus-goers was taken Saturday through Tuesday and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
About 7 percent of Republicans remain undecided.
Huckabee slipped two points after criticism from Romney over his record as Arkansas governor. One day of polling came after Huckabee's heavily publicized news conference on Monday, when he announced he would not air a new attack ad against Romney, then showed it to reporters.
"Huckabee's numbers are clearly going down, but Romney's are not going up," Zogby said.
The biggest Republican gains were by Thompson, who pulled into a third-place tie with McCain at 12 percent after gaining two points, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who jumped two points to 9 percent.
Thompson has been pulling support from voters who identify themselves as "very" conservative and born-again Christians - key constituencies for Huckabee, a Baptist minister whose rise has been fueled by backing from religious and social conservatives.
"Thompson seems to be benefiting from conservatives looking for a candidate," Zogby said.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has focused on later states and largely bypassed Iowa, was at 7 percent in the Republican race and California Rep. Duncan Hunter was at 1 percent.
Source: Reuters
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