Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, has catapulted into a near-tie for second place with Fred Thompson in the latest poll of Iowa's Republicans.
Combined with the news that Sam Brownback, a rival for the support of Christian conservatives, is pulling out of the race, Huckabee is coming up on the rails behind Romney, Thompson and Giuliani. That's bad news for Thompson and his campaign in terminal decline, and it's bad news for Romney who dearly needs a boost from Iowa.
Update: Here's another new poll from Iowa that puts Huckabee in a near-tie for second place with Giuliani, behind Romney in first - and Thompson slumping to fourth place. Thompson really is in trouble.
On the Democratic side, HRC stays in the lead. But here's this interesting detail from the Rasmussen poll:
59% of Clinton supporters say they are certain they will vote for her. 51% of Edwards' supporters say the same about him and 48% of Obama's voters are that confident. Given the high numbers of voters who say they could change their mind, the race in Iowa remains very fluid.
