OBAMA, HUCKABEE, LEAD IN IOWA POLL
  • Republican Mike Huckabee and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama have taken the lead among Iowans likely to take part in their respective party caucuses, according to The Des Moines Register's latest polling.
    Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, wins the support of 29% of Iowans who say they definitely or probably will attend the Republican Party's caucuses on Jan. 3. That's a gain of 17 percentage points since the last Iowa Poll was taken in early October, when Huckabee trailed Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson.

    Obama, an Illinois senator, leads for the first time in the Register's poll as the choice of 28% of likely Democratic Party caucus goers, up from 22% in October. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was the preferred candidate of 25%, down from 29% in the previous poll.

    Romney, who has invested more time and money campaigning in the state than any other GOP candidate, remains in the thick of the Iowa race with the backing of 24% of likely caucusgoers. But that's a drop of 5 percentage points since October for the former Massachusetts governor.



And that was before Oprah campaigned for Obama, and his numbers spiked even more.