THOMPSON CATCHES GIULIANI IN POLLS

Fred Thompson Quickly Moves To Top:

CNN is reporting that just days after former Sen. Fred Thompson announced his candidacy that he has caught longtime front runner Rudy Giuliani in a statistical dead heat.

The former New York mayor takes 28 percent GOP support nationally among registered voters, while Thompson is one point behind at 27 percent putting him well within the poll's 5 percentage point margin of error.

Last August, Giuliani registered 29 percent, while Thompson, then not an official candidate, was  only at 22 percent.

Political strategists suggest that Thompson's strength comes from Southerners, and evangelical voters. And has a broader appeal to the socially conservative base of the party.

Thompson leads among men, southerners, voters age 50 and older and ideological conservatives. On the other hand, Giuliani leads among women, voters in the Northeast and Midwest, voters under 50 and self-described GOP moderates.

The question for the Giuliani campaign is quickly becoming 'whether moderate voters will turn out in a GOP primary in strong enough numbers to put the former mayor over the top?'