By Associated Press
Tuscaloosa AL – A new survey shows potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson has jumped to the front of the Republican field in Alabama, while the Democratic race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has tightened up.
Capital Survey Research Center, the polling arm of the Alabama Education Association, released a statewide survey showing Thompson, a former Tennessee senator born in Sheffield, favored by 34 percent of likely Republican voters.
Thompson was followed by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani with 20 percent, Arizona Senator John McCain with 11 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has not announced, with 7 percent, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 5 percent.
In a survey of likely Democratic voters, 33 percent said they would vote for Clinton. The New York senator had polled 37 percent in May.
Obama polled 29 percent in the new survey. The Illinois senator had 21 percent in May. John Edwards tallied 9 percent in the new survey.
Former Vice President Al Gore, who has not announced, polled 6 percent, down from 9 percent earlier.
The new survey was conducted over a two-week period in mid-July with 841 likely voters.