New Bloomberg/LATimes poll (via press release):
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — The early Republican presidential
race is a tale of voters’ divisions over religion, with former
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee riding support from evangelical
Christians to a dominant Iowa lead, and former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney well ahead in more secular New Hampshire.
A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times survey of Republican voters in
the two states suggests that the only other candidate in
contention is Arizona Senator John McCain, who runs second to
Romney in New Hampshire. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani,
who leads in some national polls, and former Senator Fred Thompson
are far behind in the initial two states. The Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses
will be followed five days later by the New Hampshire primary.
“Huckabee’s rise in Iowa is due to the importance of
Christian conservative voters there,’’ said Susan Pinkus, the Los
Angeles Times polling director. “He’s not making a splash in New
Hampshire, where religion is not as important.’’
In Iowa, Huckabee, a Baptist minister, has surged to 37
percent among Republican voters; Romney is second at 23 percent.
In New Hampshire, Romney has 34 percent, followed by McCain with
21 percent and Giuliani with 14 percent. Huckabee is fourth with
only 9 percent.
The poll shows stark differences among Iowa caucus-goers and
New Hampshire primary voters on religion. In Iowa, Republicans by
almost 3 to 1 say Huckabee’s religious beliefs are a positive
factor. Almost half of these Iowa voters say Romney’s Mormon faith is a negative.
UPDATE: More here.