Giuliani Now Leads Clinton in Florida, Poll Finds (Update1)

Giuliani Now Leads Clinton in Florida, Poll Finds (Update1)

By Nadine Elsibai

Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has taken the lead over Senator Hillary Clinton among Florida voters in a head-to-head match-up of the 2008 presidential candidates, a Quinnipiac University poll found.

Giuliani received 46 percent support compared with 43 percent for the New York senator, the exact reverse of the results in a similar poll two weeks ago. The gap is within the poll's 3.1 percentage point margin of error.

Giuliani, a Republican, and Clinton, a Democrat, are the respective frontrunners in surveys measuring their support in the race for each party's presidential nomination.

``Florida has swung back to give Mayor Giuliani a slight edge over Senator Clinton,'' said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. ``This has gone back and forth since the campaign began this year and reflects just how up for grabs Florida's electoral votes will be.''

Florida ranks fourth in the nation in electoral votes with 27, behind California, Texas and New York. George W. Bush defeated former Vice President Al Gore by 527 votes in Florida in 2000, giving him the presidency while losing the national popular vote.

The poll of 1,025 Florida voters by Hamden, Connecticut- based Quinnipiac University was conducted Oct. 17-22.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nadine Elsibai in Washington at nelsibai@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: October 25, 2007 12:14 EDT