Poll shows Clinton extending lead over Obama

Poll results released Tuesday show that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has expanded her lead over her closest rival, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), in the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

While there had been signs that the race might be tightening, Tuesday’s USA Today/Gallup poll indicated an opposite trend. It shows Clinton polling at 38 percent, comfortably ahead of Obama’s 23 percent. In the same poll conducted three weeks ago, Clinton’s lead had shrunk to five points.

{mosads}Obama came in second at 23 percent, followed by former Vice President Al Gore at 14 percent and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards at 12 percent.

On the Republican side, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani continues to lead Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Giuliani polled at 34 percent while McCain had 20 percent. Former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) was third with 13 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) had eight percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney polled at seven percent.

Gore, Thompson and Gingrich have not yet declared whether they will run.

The poll surveyed 1,010 adults across the nation and has a 3 percent margin of error.