Mitt tightens lead in SC

Clinton, Romney edge higher in S.C. pollsBy Dan Hoover STAFF WRITEROctober 31, 2007 01:04 AM

View Full StoryDemocrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney have tightened their leads in South Carolina's presidential primary campaigns, according to an American Research Group poll released Tuesday.
Although Clinton held steady at 41 percent, second-place Barack Obama plunged 11 points from his September showing of 30 percent. John Edwards, a Seneca native and winner of the 2004 primary, jumped 11 points to finish third at 18 percent.

Among Republicans, Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, added three points, to 29 percent.
The poll was conducted in mid-October, after his endorsement by Bob Jones III, chancellor of Greenville's Bob Jones University and an influential voice among Christian conservatives.

Romney jumped into the lead in ARG's September poll, displacing Rudolph Giuliani, after a single-digit fourth-place tie in August with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, remained in second place at 23 percent, a figure unchanged from September. Arizona Sen. John McCain fell two points to 13 percent, and Fred Thompson, actor and former Tennessee senator, remained at 10 percent.

Each poll represented 600 responses from likely primary voters contacted Friday through Monday. The margin of error for each was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Response to second-tier Democrats was mixed.
Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden gained 4 points to 6 percent, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson fell 4, to 1 percent. Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich were unchanged at 1 percent each.

On the GOP side, Huckabee came in at 5 percent, a gain of 4 points; Texas Rep. Ron Paul doubled to 4 percent; and California Rep. Duncan Hunter added a point, coming in at 2 percent. Alan Keyes, who has run three U.S. Senate campaigns and sought the GOP nomination in 1996 and 2000, drew 1 percent. Keyes announced for 2008 in September.

Thirteen percent of Democrats and 12 percent of Republicans said they are undecided.