Giuliani leads field in Republican poll

WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- Rudolph Giuliani, who has not moved to run for president, leads a splintered field of Republican hopefuls in a new poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Friday finds the former New York mayor with 16 percent support from Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 15 percent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at 13 percent.

Romney officially announces his candidacy next week. Neither Palin nor Giuliani have taken concrete steps toward a run, although Palin has spoken recently of "a fire in the belly" and is starting a bus tour Sunday.

"Giuliani has the top spot in a 12-candidate field, but he doesn't generate a lot of enthusiasm. Only about a quarter of Republicans nationwide said that they would be enthusiastic if Giuliani won the nomination," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But he's not alone."

If Giuliani is not an option, Romney leads the poll at 19 percent, with Palin second at 15 percent.

The poll was conducted Tuesday through Thursday and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.