WASHINGTON – Several leading Democratic presidential candidates are fighting for the top position in Arizona, Oklahoma and South Carolina, according to polls done in those states with Feb. 3 primaries.
Wesley Clark (search) is leading in Oklahoma and competing with John Kerry (search) in Arizona, the polls released Sunday night indicate. John Edwards (search) appears to have a slight edge in his native South Carolina.
While the New Hampshire primary is likely to shake up the races in all seven of the Feb. 3 states, the contests now appear to be up for grabs.
Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota and New Mexico are also having primaries that day.
ARIZONA: Kerry had 24 percent and Clark had 21 percent with Edwards at 15 percent and Howard Dean at 10 percent. Others were in single digits.
OKLAHOMA: Clark has a slight lead in Oklahoma with 23 percent, Edwards was at 18 percent and Kerry at 17 percent. Joe Lieberman was at 10 percent and Dean at 8 percent with others in low single digits.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Edwards, a native of South Carolina and senator in neighboring North Carolina, was at 21 percent. John Kerry was at 17 percent, Al Sharpton at 15 percent and Wesley Clark at 14 percent in an American Research Group poll. Others were in single digits.
The Iowa caucuses reshaped the New Hampshire race this week, offering a reminder of how much state polls can change after each round. Dean led in New Hampshire before Iowa, where Kerry's victory and Edwards' strong second-place finish gave them a burst of energy and support.
The South Carolina poll was taken Jan. 23-24 and the Arizona and Oklahoma polls were taken Jan. 23-25. They all have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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