Edwards surges, Huckabee's bubble bursts

by Steven Thomma McClatchy Newspapers: John Edwards has clawed his way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength . . . At the same time, Mitt Romney has regained the lead among Iowa Republicans as Mike Huckabee has lost momentum and support, even among the evangelical Christians who had propelled him into the top spot just weeks ago. . . . “On the Democratic side, the race is about as close as it can get, but keep an eye on Edwards,” said Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, which conducted the survey. “Edwards has really moved up since our last poll. Obama and Clinton have each slipped a little bit.” The new survey, taken Dec. 26-28, came three weeks after the initial Dec. 3-6 poll.

On the Republican side, Coker said, “Romney has rebounded and the Huckabee bubble may have burst. “Last time, Huckabee was getting all the good press and nobody had put him under any scrutiny. ... Now he’s under the spotlight, and he’s started to wilt a little.” One in three Iowa Republicans say they could still change their minds. No one knows that better than Huckabee, who surged into the lead three weeks ago and now has lost it just as quickly. Huckabee’s support dropped 8 percentage points since the last McClatchy/MSNBC poll Dec. 3-6. A major reason why is that he’s come under sharp criticism from rivals such as Romney, been blistered as a tax raiser in a $500,000 ad campaign aired by the anti-tax group Club For Growth, and faced new scrutiny by the media of his Arkansas record on such issues as pardons. He still ranks tops among Iowa Republicans who rank values and family issues their top concerns. But while the ordained Baptist preacher still leads among the state’s influential evangelical Christians, he’s lost 8 points among them.

Romney, who had led in the state for months before dropping to second place, regained 7 points since early December. Iowa Republicans gave him their highest favorable rating, and he ranked first among GOP voters looking for experience, leadership and the ability to win in November. He also led among voters who ranked immigration, taxes or terrorism their top concerns. A key gain: He now has the support of 27% of the state’s evangelical Christian Republicans, up sharply from 8% several weeks ago. Concerns about his Mormon faith appear to have ebbed. One warning sign for Romney: one-third of his supporters say they still could defect to a rival, while only 22% of Huckabee's backers say that. . . . [Read More]

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