From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
New numbers out show Giuliani slipping nationally. A Pew Research poll finds McCain in the lead (22%), followed by Giuliani (20%) and then Huckabee (17%). Giuliani has seen a decline of 13 points in the poll since September, when he held a 33%-22% lead over Thompson. In November, Giuliani dropped to a 26%-19% lead over McCain. Romney comes in at 12%, about where he's been nationally in this poll, and Thompson continues his fall, now into single digits at 9%.
According to Pew's analysis: "The drop in support for Giuliani has occurred across all segments of the GOP electorate. While he continues to garner more backing from moderate and liberal Republicans (28%) than from conservatives (15%), both groups show double-digit declines from September. The growth in support for McCain is most notable among moderate and liberal Republicans, where he is up 10 points since September. Huckabee’s gains were strongest
among conservative Republicans, where he currently garners as much support at McCain (20%)."
On the Democratic side, Clinton maintains a significant lead at 46%-26% over Obama. Edwards is third at 14%.