New poll shows McCain, Clinton still favorites in Arizona

Arizona voters appear to be searching for new leadership in the presidential race, according to the results of the statewide Rocky Mountain Poll released earlier today.

Paul Giblin weighs in on politics in his Checking In Blog

The poll was conducted from May 24 through May 29.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona held steady with 35 percent support. McCain polled at 34 percent in March and 40 percent in January.

His top two opponents, who were considered fresh choices a few months ago, are beginning to stale.

“In Arizona, both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have lost ground to John McCain,” poll director Earl de Berge said in a press release.

Giuliani collected 20 percent support in the May poll, a full 15 points behind McCain. The former New York mayor slipped from a high of 25 percent in March. He had 13 percent in January.

Meanwhile, Romney and Fred Thompson gathered 7 percent each.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, had 11 percent in each of the previous two polls. Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and current television actor and radio personality, debuted on the Rocky Mountain Poll, which is conducted by the nonpartisan Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center.

A full 20 percent of Republican voters said they were undecided, which marked an increase from 13 percent in March and 12 percent in January.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton held the lead at 26 percent. However, the New York senator’s support has slipped from 27 percent in March and 32 percent in January.

In contrast, Barack Obama, a virtual unknown a year ago, is surging.

“Barack Obama has risen steadily in his popularity among Arizona Democrats and is now within four points of Hillary Clinton, who has lead in Arizona for more than six months,” de Berge said.

The Illinois senator finished with 22 percent support, which marked a steady increase from 20 percent in March and 18 percent in January.

“More significant, however, is that finding that among Democrats most likely to vote in a primary election, Obama is within a single point of Clinton,” he said.

In that subset, Clinton had 23 percent, while Obama had 22.

In the overall poll of Democratic voters, Al Gore, who insists that he is not a candidate, finished third with 13 percent support. The former vice president had 10 percent in March and 15 percent in January.

No other Democrat finished in double figures and 21 percent of Democrat voters remain undecided, according to the poll.

The survey sampled 338 Republican voters and 290 Democratic voters. The margin of error was 5.8 percent for both groups.