Arizona Senator John McCain, fresh from his victory in New Hampshire, has taken a narrow three-point lead over former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in the South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows McCain at 27% and Huckabee at 24%.

That’s a significant change since last Sunday. Just before the New Hampshire vote, Huckabee was leading McCain 28% to 21%. In mid-December, Huckabee and Romney were tied for the lead with 23% of the vote while McCain was well off the pace at 12%.

The current survey finds Mitt Romney running a distant third at 16%, little changed since the previous survey. Huckabee, McCain, and Romney are currently leading the GOP race nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Fred Thompson, a candidate who is staking his campaign on a strong showing in South Carolina, is close behind Romney at 12%. As recently as November, Thompson was tied for the lead in South Carolina.

Rudy Giuliani is currently at 6% in South Carolina, down four points from the previous survey. Ron Paul picks up 5% support while 3% would vote for some other candidate and 6% are not sure.

The race remains potentially very fluid as just 57% are certain that they will end up voting for the candidate they currently support.

Fred Thompson’s support is the most solid of all the candidates. Sixty-six percent (66%) of his supporters are “certain” they will vote for him. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Huckabee supporters are that “certain” along with 49% of McCain backers and 48% of those who currently favor Romney.

Thompson is viewed favorably by 72% of Likely Primary voters in the Palmetto State, McCain by 71% and Huckabee by 69%. Romney’s favorables are at 68%, Giuliani is at 60%, and Ron Paul at 36%.

Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee are viewed as politically conservative by most South Carolina Primary Voters—Thompson by 57% and Huckabee by 51%. Forty-two percent (42%) say Romney is politically conservative, 36% hold that view of McCain, and 33% believe Paul is a conservative. At the bottom of the list is Rudy Giuliani, just 10% view him as politically conservative while 85% say moderate or liberal.

In South Carolina’s Democratic race, Barack Obama holds a double digit lead over Hillary Clinton.

Rasmussen Markets data suggests that John McCain is currently a slight favorite to win the Republican nomination. Current market data suggests that the Arizona Senator has a % chance of winning the nomination. Giuliani has a % chance, Mike Huckabee %, Mitt Romney %, and Fred Thompson %. Numbers in this paragraph reflect results from a prediction market, not a poll. RasmussenMarkets.com is a “futures market” that harnesses competitive passions to becomes a reliable leading indicator of upcoming events. Using a trading format where traders "buy and sell" candidates, issues, and news features, the markets correctly projected both Obama and Huckabee as the winners in Iowa. We invite you to participate in the Rasmussen Markets. It costs nothing to join and add your voice to the collective wisdom of the market.