Yet more polls, as Huckabee-mania continues

• How is Huckabee so strong in Ohio?

SUSA just came out with a new general election poll from Ohio, with some mixed results for both parties. John McCain looks very strong, while Clinton manages leads against the other candidates:

• McCain destroys both Clinton 51% to 43% and Obama 51% to 40%.
• Results are mixed against both Giuliani and Huckabee. Clinton beats the former 48% to 44% and the latter 47% to 45%. Obama trails against both: 46% to 43% against Rudy, and 44% to 41% against Huckabee.
• Both Clinton and Obama defeat Romney, respectively 51% to 41% and 45% to 42%.

The main question for me is how Mike Huckabee can possibly be look so much stronger than Rudy Giuliani! Is his name recognition not significantly lower, and should that not impact the results? That is after all the explanation we have been giving to account for Romney's weakness in these general election polls -- is that explanation wrong? Does this point to the outstanding strength of a Huckabee candidacy in a general election?

And compare this to SUSA's Ohio poll released on November 15th: every match-up is sensibly the same, except for Huckabee. Three weeks ago, Clinton was ahead 54% to 37% and Obama 48% to 38%. Huckabee has jumped by about 15% in three weeks in a state he has barely campaigned in.

• Pew's early-state wave

Pew released a wave of early-state polls in the Democratic race yesterday; today, we get polls of the Republican race. Romney is in first position in IA, NH and SC -- though the first and third are toss-ups:

• In Iowa, Romney is ahead 25% to Huckabee's 24%. Giuliani gets 14% and Thompson gets 12%.
• In New Hampshire, Romney's 37% is one of the highest percentages he's ever received here. He is 18 points ahead Rudy Giuliani at 19%, while McCain is at 15%. Ron Paul reaches a new high of 9%, Huckabee is at 7% and Fred Thompson sinks to 3%!
• Meanwhile in South Carolina, the top six candidates are within 13%: Giuliani and Romney are tied for first at 19%, followed by Thompson's 18%. McCain gets 13%, Huckabee 10% and Paul 6%.

Just as in the Democratic polls Pew released yesterday, this poll was taken from over a two week period ending November 25th -- so the late November surge of Huckabee past Romney is not registered here, though Huckabee is already a clear threat.

The numbers underscore that the nomination is anybody's to grab at this point. Only Fred Thompson has almost no path to the nomination left -- he is far behind in Iowa, is dead in New Hampshire, and would then have no chance of improving in South Carolina.

• Huckabee surging in national polls

Two new national polls released today and yesterday prove just how far Huckabee has come in the past two weeks:

• In the Rasmussen daily tracking poll, Huckabee and Giuliani are now tied at 18%. While all other candidates are very close behind (McCain, Thompson and Romney are at 14, 13, 12 respectively), this is by far the highest Huckabee has ever been at. He reached double-digits for the first time on October 25th. This is also Giuliani's lowest total since at least September.
• Meanwhile, the Gallup poll out yesterday has Giuliani at 25% and Mike Huckabee has taken second-place at 16% -- three weeks ago, in the last Gallup poll, Huckabee was 5th with 6%!

Huckabee-mania continues, both in primary polls and general election numbers.