Politics / John McCain McCain Now National GOP Favorite: Poll Clinton still leads Dems, but Obama doubles 'electability' By Katherine Thompson, Newser Staff Posted Jan 14, 2008 6:56 AM CST Copied Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks during a town hall meeting at Rosemary Clarke Middle School in Pahrump, Nev., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Associated Press) A new nationwide poll shows seismic shifts in the standings of presidential hopefuls in the last month, with John McCain, earlier counted out with just 7% support, now leading the GOP race at 33%. The New York Times/CBS poll has Mike Huckabee trailing with 18%, and Rudy Giuliani with 10%. Mitt Romney's support among Republicans slid from 16% to 8%. The Democratic race is less volatile: Hillary Clinton still enjoys a sizable lead, but Barack Obama is catching up in electability. While Clinton's 42% to Obama's 27% are close to what they were in December, 35% of Democrats now say Obama would be best able to defeat a Republican candidate, up from 14% last month. (More John McCain stories.) Report an error