Pew poll: Clinton tops Giuliani

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., tops former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a hypothetical U.S. presidential election, a new poll indicates.

The poll by The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press suggested the Republican Party is in as weak a position as it has been in a generation, Politico.com reported Wednesday.

The poll indicates Clinton leads Giuliani in the South, and draws evenly among voters who say they attend church at least once a week and among families with household incomes of $100,000 or more.

Clinton trails among rural voters and men, but only by a narrow margin, Politico.com said.

Other polls have Giuliani leading Clinton in head-to-head match-ups, Politico.com said. However, those polls indicate Clinton would beat former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; and former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.

Based on current trends, the Pew poll found if the campaign continues on its current trajectory, Clinton would beat Giuliani by eight points in a general election.

The poll surveyed 2,007 adults -- twice the normal polling sample size -- between Oct. 17 and Oct. 23. The margin of error is 2.5 percent.