Poll: Clinton maintains comfortable lead

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A new poll suggested Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is the top choice of 44 percent of Democrats surveyed about the party's nomination for president.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation telephone poll of 467 Democrats or independents who lean Democratic, conducted last Friday-Sunday, showed Clinton's nearest challenger, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., at 25 percent, trails the front-runner by 19 percentage points, CNN reported Tuesday.

Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., was found to have the support of 14 percent of respondents.

The poll's margin of error was 4.5 percentage points.

A telephone poll of 397 Republicans or independents who lean Republican suggested that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads the GOP field with 28 percent support, while former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., is the top pick of 19 percent and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has the support of 16 percent.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 11 percent support in the poll.

The poll had a 3 percentage point margin of error.