First in the Nation Huckabee

Mike Huckabee is now in the #1 spot according to the latest Presidential Tracking Poll from Rasmussen Reports:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows a new national leader in the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination. While enjoying an amazing surge, Mike Huckabee has earned support from 20% of Likely Republican Primary Voters nationwide. Three points back, at 17%, is Rudy Giuliani. That’s the lowest level of support ever recorded for Giuliani in the tracking poll and represents a seven-point decline over the past week. Huckabee has gained eight points during the same time frame.

In addition to Huckabee and Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney are at 13%, and Fred Thompson is at 10%.

Polls recently released by other firms have recently shown Huckabee surging but Giuliani still retaining his lead. For example, a recent Gallup poll showed Giuliani leading Huckabee by nine percentage points. The difference between the two results is partly the result of timing as Rasmussen Reports provides new information more frequently than any other firm. On the dates of the Gallup survey, Rasmussen Reports showed Giuliani still leading Huckabee by three. Since the Gallup survey was completed, Huckabee has gained a net six points over Giuliani.

Additionally, Rasmussen Reports screens for Likely Primary voters while Gallup surveyed Adults. Neither approach is necessarily right or wrong, but Primary Voters tend to be more conservative than Republicans generally. As a result, a poll that screens for Likely Primary Voters is likely to show more support for Huckabee than a poll that measures the opinions of Republican and Republican leaning adults.