The perception that Rudy Giuliani is the most electable Republican may be slipping a bit.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 66% of Republicans believe that Giuliani at least somewhat likely to win the White House if nominated. That’s down from 72% a month ago.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of Republican voters now say that Fred Thompson is at least somewhat likely to win in nominated. That’s up from 57% last month.

The gap between Giuliani and Thompson virtually disappears at a higher level of confidence—23% of Republican voters say that Giuliani is Very Likely to win if nominated while 22% say the same about Thompson.

Being seen as the most electable candidate is important for Giuliani because two-thirds of Republican voters see him as politically moderate or liberal. Thompson is seen as the most conservative candidate in the field.

As a whole, however, Republican voters are a lot less confident of victory than Democrats. Hillary Clinton is seen by those in her party as the most electable Democrat.

John McCain, struggling in the national polls, does fairly well in the electability category. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Republicans say he is at least somewhat likely to win if nominated. That includes 16% who believe he would be Very Likely to win.

Forty-seven percent (47%) say Mitt Romney is at least Somewhat Likely to emerge victorious if nominated. That’s down from 55% a month ago. Ten percent (10%) think Romney would be Very Likely to win, down from 15% in September.

Mike Huckabee is gaining ground both in Iowa and in the daily Presidential Tracking Poll. However, just 35% think he is at least somewhat likely to win if nominated. Only 10% see a Huckabee victory as Very Likely.

Ron Paul has passionate supporters and a lot of campaign money, but just 17% think he has any chance of winning the general election if nominated. Only 4% believe he would be Very Likely to win it all.

In the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, Giuliani and Thompson remain the top contenders while Romney is consistently in third place followed by McCain and Huckabee.

Among all voters, 46% think Giuliani has a chance to win if nominated, 43% say McCain has a shot and 40% say the same about Thompson. Thirty-two percent (32%) say Romney could win, 22% see Huckabee as at least a somewhat likely victor and 12% think Paul could possibly win if nominated.