Washington: Hillary Rodham Clinton enjoyed a 15 per cent-point lead over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released in Washington on Tuesday.
Some 38 per cent of Democratic and Democrat-leaning respondents expressed support for Clinton.
Obama is at 23 per cent, 3 points lower than the previous result.
In the race for the Republican nomination, meanwhile, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani maintained a solid lead over US Senator John McCain, by 34 per cent over 20.
Analysts said results from the poll, which surveyed 1,010 adults, suggest that Clinton may have benefited over Obama from her performance during last month's Democratic candidates' debate.
Giuliani is supported by 34 per cent of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters surveyed, compared with 20 percent for McCain.
Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin who studies polling, cautions against making too much of shifts in national surveys 18 months before the election.
Still, Clinton strategist Mark Penn attributes her boost in the poll to her performance in the first public debate among Democratic presidential hopefuls on April 26.
The survey of 1,010 adults was taken last Friday through last Sunday.
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