Clinton, Thompson Lead South Carolina

For purposes of our brand study, the “horserace” question is the least interesting.  Nonetheless, we ask it as a way to gauge how the various candidate brands are playing in the marketplace.

Clinton Lead Narrows

Hillary Clinton remains the frontrunner among South Carolina Democrats, although her market share has dropped a bit.

If the race is narrowed to the top three contenders, Clinton leads with 41 percent, Obama has 34 percent and Edwards is at 20 percent. 

This represents a two-point drop for Clinton, a five-point decrease for Edwards and a nine-point increase for Obama.  Clinton held a 43-25 lead over Obama in April.

Thompson Surges In Tight Republican Race

The race is much closer – and much changed – on the Republican side.

Among all candidates, Fred Thompson now leads with 27 percent, followed by Giuliani at 22, McCain at 17, non-candidate Newt Gingrich at 10 and Mitt Romney at 9.  If the race is narrowed down to the top four contenders candidates, Thompson has 35 percent; Giuliani is second with 25; McCain is at 21, and Romney claims 13 percent.

This is a significant change from April, when McCain led a three-way race with Giuliani and Romney with 36 percent, followed by Giuliani (34%) and Romney (21%).