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**Ironduke** · 12-11-2007, 01:37 AM

The man has barely any funding, has spent a fraction of what the other candidates have, but seems to be catching on across the nation. Just a couple points shy of Giuliani according to the last CNN poll. For me, it would have been unimaginable that Huckabee would be at where he is now given his standings just a few months ago.

Other polls conducted this month:

Nationwide

USA Today - 16% (12/1) #2
LA Times - 17% (12/2) #2
AP/Ipsos - 18% (12/4) #2
CNN - 22% (12/9) #2

By State

Iowa - MSNBC - 32% (12/4) #1
Iowa - Newsweek - 39% (12/6) #1
NC - Public Policy Polling - 33% (12/3) #1
SC - MSNBC - 20% (12/5) #1
SC - Real Clear Politics - 23% (12/4) #1

Quote:

New poll shows big shake-up in GOP race

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Mike Huckabee's dramatic jump in the polls is going nationwide. The former Arkansas governor is in a virtual tie with Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll out Monday.

Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, is backed by 24 percent of Republican voters nationally while Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, is at 22 percent.

The two-point difference is well within the survey's sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is at 16 percent in the new poll, followed by Sen. John McCain of Arizona at 12 percent, Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee at 10 percent, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas at 6 percent, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California at 2 percent and Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado at 1 percent. View complete poll results »

The poll, conducted December 6-9, involved nationwide telephone interviews with 377 registered Republicans voters or independent voters who lean Republican.

Huckabee is now the front-runner in the polls in Iowa, the first state to vote in the presidential primary process, taking the top spot from Romney, and he's also jumped dramatically in South Carolina, the first southern state to vote.

Now he appears to be on the rise in national surveys as well. Two nationwide polls last week, Gallup/USA Today and Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg, put him in second place.

Huckabee doubled his support in October and doubled it again in November, going from 5 percent in October to double digits last month to more than 20 percent this month, in the CNN poll.

"Huckabee's strength so far may be a positive, values-oriented message," CNN polling director Keating Holland said. "He ranks first when GOP voters are asked who shares their Republican values and who has spent the least time criticizing his opponents. He also scores well on likeability and believability, although Giuliani beats him on those measures.

If Huckabee has and Achilles' heel, it's his lack of experience, Holland said. "Huckabee places fourth, behind Giuliani, McCain and Romney, when Republicans are asked to rate the GOP candidates on experience."

Huckabee jumped 12 points in the CNN poll in the last month, but he's not the only Republican White House hopeful on the rise in the CNN survey. Romney is up 5 points, from 11 percent to 16 percent.

Going the other way in the poll is Thompson, who dropped nine points.

New poll shows big shake-up in GOP race - CNN.com