Mitt Romney leads his Republican rivals for the presidential nomination in Iowa, while Hillary Clinton has taken the lead in the Democratic field, according to the latest poll from Strategic Vision, LLC.
In the survey of 600 likely GOP caucus-goers, Romney led with 30 percent of the vote, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 17 percent, Fred Thompson with 13 percent, Mike Huckabee with 8 percent, and John McCain with 6 percent.
No other Republican candidate received more than 5 percent, and 13 percent were undecided.
“Romney continues to lead in the state and has in our polling since June largely due to his heavy personal campaigning and advertising in the state, which has gone largely unchallenged by the other candidates,” said David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision.
“The surprise is that Giuliani has moved into a clear second place showing, having fallen behind Thompson in our last two polls.
“For McCain, this poll continues what has been a downward spiral for his campaign.”
On the Democratic side, Clinton led with 24 percent of the 600 likely caucus-goers, with John Edwards trailing at 22 percent, followed by Barack Obama with 21 percent and Bill Richardson with 13 percent. No other candidate received more than 4 percent, and 14 percent were undecided.
“This is the first time since we began polling in Iowa that Clinton had led,” said Johnson. “At this point she has the momentum in this state.
“For Edwards these numbers are disastrous as there is no way possible that he can survive without winning Iowa.”
Among Republicans, 53 percent said they favored a withdrawal from Iraq in the next six months, and 84 percent of Democrats agreed.