Senator John McCain (R) has regained a bit of lost ground in the Election 2008 sweepstakes. He is now essentially tied with both John Edwards (D) and Barack Obama (D) in general election match-ups. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey shows McCain and Obama in a 44% to 44% tie while Edwards holds a statistically insignificant 45% to 44% advantage. When matched against Obama, McCain leads among men but trails among women. The gender gap is much smaller in a McCain-Edwards comparison.

A month ago, McCain trailed both Edwards and Obama three points. Prior to that survey, McCain had been ahead of every Democratic challenger in every Rasmussen Reports poll. Two months ago, McCain held a two-point edge over Obama and a five point lead over Edwards.

McCain is also essentially tied with New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) at the moment. The GOP hopeful earns 45% of the vote when matched against the former First Lady while Clinton attracts 44%.

McCain is now viewed favorably by 54% of Americans. That’s up from 52% a month ago, but down from 59% in December. Edwards is viewed favorably by 53%, Obama by 50%.

In the race to capture the GOP nomination, McCain is running second to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R). Giuliani also leads all Democrats in general election match-ups at this time (see summary of general election match-ups). He holds a two-point edge over Edwards and a six-point advantage over both Obamaand Clinton.

Clinton, Obama, and Edwards have been consistently the top three choices in the race for the Democratic nomination. All three lead in general election match-ups against all Republicans other than Giuliani and McCain.

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