"Obama, Clinton tied in N.H.: poll"

Obama, Clinton tied in N.H.: poll
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
Last update: 10:46 a.m. EST Dec. 28, 2007

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The battle for the Democratic presidential nomination remains a close-fought battle, with a new poll showing Barack Obama even with Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire.

A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows Obama, the Illinois senator, with the support of 32% of New Hampshire Democrats. Clinton had the support of 30%, making for a statistical dead heat. New Hampshire holds its Democratic and Republican primaries on Jan. 8.
The survey showed Obama making great strides since the fall. A September Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll showed him trailing the New York senator 35% to 16%.

In Iowa, the poll found that Clinton, Obama and John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee, were locked in a three-way statistical tie. The results echoed other surveys that show the candidates virtually deadlocked in Iowa, which kicks off the presidential contests with Democratic and Republican caucuses on Jan. 3.

The survey, however, found that Clinton may stand to benefit from the fallout surrounding the assassination of former Pakistani prime
minister Benazir Bhutto on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The survey found that Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats, as well as Democrats around the country, see Clinton as better able to handle national security than Obama, the Times said.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona enjoys a similar advantage among Republican voters. The poll found that Republicans in New Hampshire and Iowa consider him the best qualified to deal with foreign affairs.

Meanwhile, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee holds a lead of 37% to 23% over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Iowa, the poll found. Huckabee has seen support surge in recent weeks, displacing Romney, who had held a strong lead in Iowa for several months. End of Story
William L. Watts covers Congress and politics for MarketWatch.

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