Romney, Edwards Lead in Latest Zogby Iowa Poll

The latest Zogby survey of likely Iowa caucus voters finds two candidates who are running third (at best) in national polls each narrowly leading a tight pack of candidates in their respective party’s race in the Hawkeye State.

In a big surge, Mitt Romney—who has fared favorably in the GOP debates thus far—garnered 19 percent of the support of likely Republican caucus voters, eclipsing Rudy Giuliani (18 percent) and John McCain (18 percent) – a lead well within the survey’s margin of error. Romney trails Giuliani and McCain in all national polls.

Romney’s numbers have virtually doubled in each of the three Zogby polls from mid-January (5 percent) to late March (11 percent) to mid-May (19 percent). McCain’s support has remained steady—holding between 17 and 19 percent the Zogby polls, while Giuliani dropped 7 points in May from his 25 percent peak in March. Fred Thompson, who has not yet announced his candidacy, was not included in the Zogby poll. Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson was a distant fourth at 4 percent.

John Edwards (26 percent) continues to lead the pack on the Democratic side of the ticket for the fourth consecutive Zogby poll. His two-point lead over Hillary Clinton (24 percent) is within the survey’s margin of error. Edwards has maintained support between 24 and 27 percent in all four Zogby polls since January. Barack Obama garnered 22 percent in the new Zogby poll, with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in fourth at 6 percent. Edwards trails both Clinton and Obama in all national polls.