Rudy Giuliani leads the Republican Presidential Primary in Florida with 30% support in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney are nearly even in second place. Thompson earns 17% of the vote while Romney attracts 15%.

John McCain at 7% and Mike Huckabee at 5% form a third tier of candidates. Filling out the slate, four other candidates split five percent (5%) of the vote and 22% are undecided.

These numbers reflect significant changes from the last Rasmussen Reports poll in Florida. The change brings good news for Giuliani, Romney, and Huckabee. It’s bad news for Thompson and McCain. A month ago, Giuliani and Thompson were virtually tied for first while Romney and McCain were tied for third. Huckabee wasn’t even on the radar screen at that time.

Even among conservative Primary voters in Florida, Giuliani has the edge. Among conservatives, it’s 25% for the Mayor, 19% for Thompson, and 17% for Romney. Huckabee is supported by 7% of conservatives, McCain by 4%.

Huckabee wants to believe that his second place finish in last week’s Iowa straw poll means he’s moved into the top-tier of candidates. The latest Rasmussen Reports analysis of the race suggests the man from Arkansas is not there yet.

Romney continues to lead the polls in New Hampshire while Giuliani leads the national polls.
Giuliani remains the most popular GOP candidate, viewed favorably by 80% of Florida’s Likely Republican PrimaryVoters. Thompson is viewed favorably by 67% in Florida. For both men, those figures represent little change over the past month.

Romney is now viewed favorably by 61%, up from 52% a month ago.

A separate survey found that Hillary Clinton leads the top Republican hopefuls in the race for Florida’s 27 Electoral College votes. About the only positive news for the GOP in that survey was the fact that Governor Charlie Crist (R) continues to earn stellar ratings for his performance in office.

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