Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s (R) lead over Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) is down to a single point in the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. It’s Giuliani 44%, Obama 43%

Giuliani leads by 11 points among men while Obama has an eight-point advantage among women.

The gap between Giuliani and Obama has been narrowing dramatically in recent months. Last December, Giuliani’s lead was 11 percentage points. By January, Obama had cut that lead in half and trailed by just six.

The former Big Apple mayor is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination; Obama is second, behind Hillary Clinton, in the running for the Democratic nomination.

The new telephone survey also found Obama with a massive but unsurprising lead of 52% to 32% over Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R). Among men, Huckabee trails Obama by just two points. Women prefer Obama 59% to 26%.

Huckabee recently affirmed that he is committed to a presidential run and denied that he will be pursuing a U.S. Senate seat. The Governor is viewed favorably by 23% of all voters and unfavorably by 32%. A plurality, 46%, is unsure what to think of him.

In November, Obama led Huckabee 50% to 31%.

Barack Obama is viewed favorably by 54%, unfavorably by 36%. In recent months Obama has enjoyed the best favorable/unfavorable ratio among leading Democrats, but is now matched by Senator John Edwards.

Giuliani is viewed favorably by 64%, unfavorably by 31%. He remains the most personally popular candidate of either party.

The Mayor also leads every Democrat in general election match-ups. This includes Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, former Senator John Edwards, and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

In addition to closing the gap with Giuliani, Obama is tied with Republican Senator John McCain. He leads every other Republican including Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson ,former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and Senators Sam Brownback and Chuck Hagel.

Rasmussen Reports continuously updates favorability ratings and general election match-ups for all Democratic and Republican candidates. We also maintain ratings for Members of Congress, Other Political Figures, and Journalists.

Historical data available for Premium Members only.