Hillary Clinton ahead in US Democratic race, says poll

WASHINGTON: Senator Hillary Clinton holds a large early lead over other top candidates in the race for the Democratic US presidential nomination, said a national poll reported on Sunday in The Washington Post.   

New York's Clinton was the favorite of 41 per cent of Democrats polled, more than double the 17 per cent, second-place rating scored by Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the Post said.   

Former Senator John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, placed third at 11 per cent, with former Vice President Al Gore at 10 per cent. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, the 2004 presidential nominee, came in at 8 per cent.   

The poll was taken before Clinton announced her candidacy on Saturday. Obama entered the race on Tuesday and Edwards jumped in last month.   

The Post said in hypothetical general election match ups of Clinton and top Republican candidates, the former first lady "narrowly leads Arizona Sen. John McCain and is running about even with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani".   

The Washington Post-ABC News poll was a January 16-19 random sample of 1,000 adults, including 561 Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents, with a 3 percentage point error margin.