Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain hold shrinking leads in New Hampshire three days before the state's presidential nominating contest, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll published today.
Most of the polling in the four-day tracking survey was taken before the Iowa caucuses on Thursday, when Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee sailed to wins in the opening test of the US presidential campaign.
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton with her husband, former President Bill Clinton speech at the New Hampshire Democratic Party 100 Club Dinner in Milford, N.H. yesterday. AP Photo/Elise Amendola
In New Hampshire, Clinton's lead over Obama in the Democratic race shrunk slightly to four points, 32 per cent to 28 per cent. John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator who finished second in Iowa, was in third place with 20 per cent.
Among Republicans, McCain's lead over rival Mitt Romney fell by two points to 32 per cent against 30 per cent. Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, gained two points to 12 per cent.
"Overall the numbers have not moved that much but there was the beginning of a post-Iowa bounce for Obama and Huckabee," pollster John Zogby said. "We will see more tomorrow but I think we will clearly see them make gains."
The rolling poll of 893 likely Democratic voters and 887 likely Republican voters was taken between Tuesday and Friday. The margin of error for both races was plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
New Hampshire's primary on Tuesday is the next battleground in the state-by-state process of choosing Republican and Democratic candidates for November's election to replace President George Bush.
The state is vital to efforts by Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady, and Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, to revitalize their campaigns after disappointing showings in Iowa.
Clinton, who just a few months ago was the dominant Democratic front-runner and presumed nominee, finished third in Iowa behind Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black president, and Edwards.
Romney led polls in Iowa for months before falling victim to Huckabee's late surge. He also led New Hampshire polls before the recent charge of McCain, an Arizona senator who won the state during his failed 2000 presidential bid.
About 7 percent of Republicans and Democrats remain undecided in the New Hampshire poll.