Published: February 04, 2008

No Clear Republican Leader in pre-Super Tuesday Polls

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Editor: Alan Gray, NewsBlaze

WASHINGTON - In the Republican presidential race, Arizona Sen. John McCain solidified his double-digit leads over Mitt Romney in New York and New Jersey, but Romney expanded his lead in California, the biggest prize on "Super Tuesday," according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Monday

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, led McCain 40 percent to 32 percent in California, where the margin of error was 3.3 percentage points. A win in California, the most populous state, could help puncture McCain's growing momentum in the Republican nomination fight.

McCain won the last two contests, in South Carolina and Florida, to seize the front-runner's slot in a hard-fought Republican race despite qualms among some conservatives about his past views on taxes, immigration and campaign finance.

"Romney is widening his lead in California and has a really big advantage with conservatives," Zogby said. "Romney winning California would give some Republicans pause when they look at McCain as the potential nominee."

Romney said he would cut short a scheduled trip to Georgia and fly back to California on Monday for a last-minute campaign visit.

'A Good Shot'

"People there are taking a real close look at the race and it looks like I've got a good shot there," Romney told reporters.

In Missouri, McCain leads former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee by 35 percent to 27 percent, with Romney in third place at 24 percent. The margin of error was 3.4 percentage points.
"Huckabee and Romney are splitting the anti-McCain vote in states like Missouri," Zogby said.

The Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby rolling tracking poll surveyed presidential races in both parties in California, New Jersey and Missouri. The polls also looked at the Republican race in New York and the Democratic race in Georgia. Polling will continue for one more night.

The new poll found McCain, who could be on the path to the Republican nomination with a strong performance on Tuesday, doubling Romney's support in New Jersey and doing even better in New York.

The presidential contenders are aiming on Tuesday to win a big share of the national convention delegates who choose the nominees. About 40 percent of the Republican delegates are up for grabs on Tuesday.

The rolling polls in all five states were taken Friday through Sunday with samples sizes around 835 likely Republican voters.

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