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Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton Lead 2008 Poll in South

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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani hold an edge among prospective candidates for the White House in five Southeastern states, where most voters remain undecided, according to a poll released by Elon University.

Thirty percent of those polled who said they would vote Democratic supported Clinton, 14 percent backed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, and 8 percent supported former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. But 24 percent said it was too early to decide and 22 percent didn't know who they would support.

"While the number of people who aren't sure who they will support in the upcoming election shows that we're very early in the process, it is somewhat unexpected to see Hillary Clinton, a New York senator, doing so well in the South," said Hunter Bacot, the poll's director.

"It is particularly unexpected with a viable Southerner, John Edwards, in the race," he said. "If these findings hold over time, the race for the Democratic nomination may be over before it starts."

In North Carolina, Clinton led with 32.4 percent to Edwards' 13.5 percent, and Obama had 9.5 percent. In South Carolina, where Edwards was born, he had 5.6 percent, while Clinton and Obama each had the support of 16.7 percent of Democrats polled.

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In the GOP field, 31 percent of respondents who identified themselves as Republicans said it was too early to tell, while 25 percent said they didn't know whom they would vote for.

Giuliani had the support of 21 percent of those polled, while Sen. John McCain of Arizona had 16 percent and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts got 3 percent.

The poll was conducted Feb. 18-22 by the Elon University Institute for Politics and Public Affairs, which surveyed 719 residents in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.7 percent.

© 2007 Associated Press.

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