Closing In On Giuliani

Rasmussen's latest poll shows Huckabee in second place nationally, within 5 points of front-runner Rudy Giuliani:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination is getting more and more competitive. Rudy Giuliani continues to lead nationwide with 22% support, but his lead is shrinking. Surging Mike Huckabee now attracts 17% of Likely Republican Primary Voters nationwide. Fred Thompson and John McCain each earn 14% while Mitt Romney is close behind at 11%. Ron Paul attracts 6% of Likely Republican Primary voters nationwide and no other Republican candidate reaches 2%.

This recent polling trend suggests that John McIntyre's prediction from Real Clear Politics on Thursday is becoming a reality:

It is not about Iowa only any more. Mike Huckabee has a real shot to be the Republican nominee.

An important signal to watch for over the next month will be whether Huckabee overtakes Romney in the national polls leading up to Iowa. If that were to happen concurrently with Huckabee continuing to head toward a win in Iowa that would be an important tell that Republican voters are moving toward ultimately a Huckabee vs. Giuliani showdown.