McCain up 31% to 28% over Romney in Florida

Editor: Alan Gray, NewsBlaze

Giuliani at 15%; Huckabee gets 10%, according to Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Florida poll

In Florida, where Republican presidential contenders meet in a critical primary on Tuesday, John McCain has a narrow 3-point advantage on rival Mitt Romney, 31 percent to 28 percent, in the state's initial Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby rolling poll, released on Saturday. The poll had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

McCain Vs. Romney

Florida's Republican primary matches McCain, an Arizona senator, with Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, after they split two contests last week - McCain won South Carolina's Republican primary and Romney won in Michigan.

The winner in Florida will gain valuable momentum heading into the February 5 "Super Tuesday" voting, when 22 states will have either Republican or Democratic nominating contests.

Trailing the top two Republican contenders was former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who once led national polls in the race but has seen his standing plummet as he bypassed the early voting states to concentrate on Florida.

Giuliani was in third place at 15 percent, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the winner in Iowa, at 10 percent. Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 5 percent.

Romney led easily among those voters who identified themselves as "very" conservative, while McCain held a 2-to-1 edge among moderates.

Religious conservatives fueled the Iowa win by Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, but he trails both McCain and Romney in Florida among those who call themselves "born again."

Nine percent of Republican voters in Florida remain undecided.

"It's very close," Zogby said. "With nearly one in every 10 Republicans undecided, there is still a long way to go in this one."

The poll in Florida showed the economy was the top issue among likely voters, at 38 percent, with the war on terrorism ranking second at 14 percent, ahead of the war in Iraq at 12 percent.

Democrats also will hold a primary in Florida, but because of a dispute between the state and national parties over the date of the contest none of the presidential contenders have campaigned there.

The rolling poll of 814 likely Republican voters in Florida was taken Wednesday through Friday.

In a rolling poll, the most recent day's results are added while the oldest day's results are dropped in order to track changing momentum.

Source: REUTERS/C-SPAN/ZOGBY TRACKING POLL

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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