Latest poll shows Huckabee surging in Iowa

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll showed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee vying for the lead in the Iowa Republican caucuses.

The new poll indicated that Huckabee was running even with front-runner former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Huckabee's support levels have tripled since July.

The Post-ABC poll found 28 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers support Romney with 24 percent supporting Huckabee. Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani were third with 13 percent support each.

The GOP evangelical base is the primary source of Huckabee's surge, with roughly 7 in 10 evangelical Protestants backing the former governor.

There are eight issues, including the economy, healthcare, abortion and family values, polling in the double digits as Republican concerns. Democrats, however, are concerned primarily with Iraq and healthcare.

Nearly 12 percent of Republican caucus-goers in Iowa saw Huckabee as the "strongest leader," though Romney and Giuliani held the lead in that perception. Only 1 percent shared that opinion of Huckabee in July.

The poll surveyed 400 likely Republican caucus-goers Nov. 14-18 by telephone with a margin of error of 5 percentage points.