Poll: Dem Race a
Dead Heat; Huckabee Leads GOP

A recent poll shows Clinton and Obama about tied in the three early-voting states, and that a chunk of the Democrats surveyed remain undecided: 11% in Iowa, 19% in New Hampshire, and 24% in South Carolina. The poll puts Obama ahead of Clinton among blacks in South Carolina, 37% to 21%, though she leads among women, 34% to 21%.

The Republican race is less consistent. Huckabee holds a sizable lead over Giuliani in Iowa, though the two are about even in South Carolina. In Iowa the former New York mayor is in single digits, while Romney, former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, has a solid lead.

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DEMOCRATS - IOWA

Hillary Rodham Clinton, 27%

Barack Obama, 25%

John Edwards, 21%

Bill Richardson, 9%

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DEMOCRATS - NEW HAMPSHIRE

Hillary Rodham Clinton, 30%

Barack Obama, 27%

John Edwards, 10%

Bill Richardson, 7%

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DEMOCRATS - SOUTH CAROLINA

Hillary Rodham Clinton, 28%

Barack Obama, 25%

John Edwards, 18%

Bill Richardson, 1%

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REPUBLICANS - IOWA

Mike Huckabee, 32%

Mitt Romney, 20%

Fred Thompson, 11%

John McCain, 7%

Rudy Giuliani, 5%

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REPUBLICANS - NEW HAMPSHIRE

Mitt Romney, 25%

Rudy Giuliani, 17%

John McCain, 16%

Mike Huckabee, 11%

Fred Thompson, 6%

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REPUBLICANS - SOUTH CAROLINA

Mike Huckabee, 20%

Rudy Giuliani, 17%

Mitt Romney, 15%

Fred Thompson, 14%

John McCain, 10%

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The telephone survey of 400 likely caucus attendees or primary voters in the three states was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research December 3-6. It has a sampling error margin of plus or minus five percentage points. (AP)