Mitt Romney is
still the Republican to beat in Iowa, maintaining a lead
he's held over other presidential candidates for months.
A poll released
Sunday by The Des Moines Register shows the
former Massachusetts governor with support from 29% of
Iowa Republicans. Fred Thompson, the actor and former
Tennessee senator, is in second place with 18%.
Romney has
campaigned extensively in Iowa and has aired a steady stream
of television ads.
Thompson scored
well in polls of potential caucusgoers even before
officially entering the race in September. The
Register poll showed him holding onto second
place but not cutting into Romney's lead.
Although Rudy
Giuliani leads in national polls, he hasn't fared as well
in Iowa and now is about even with Mike Huckabee in third
place. The poll gave Huckabee 12%, up markedly since
earlier in the summer. Giuliani had 11% and John
McCain 7%.
The telephone
poll was conducted October 1-3 of 405 registered voters who
said they would definitely or probably attend the Republican
caucuses. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or
minus 4.9 percentage points. (AP)