A 2008 presidential race between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton would be a dead heat, according to a poll released Wednesday by Fox News Opinion Dynamics.
Hillary edges out Condi by a razor-thin 3 points - 46 to 43 percent - in a race so close it's within the survey's margin of error.
Rice's astonishing showing comes despite her emphatic denials that she'd even consider running for president, while Clinton has been laying the groundwork for a presidential run for at least six years.
In another stunning development, the Fox poll shows Rice picking up more Democratic support than Hillary gets from Republicans. Ten percent of Democrats say they'd back Rice for president. Just eight percent of Republicans would support Hillary.
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Mrs. Clinton still retains a healthy edge among women, leading Rice 49 to 41 percent. Among men, 46 percent back Rice, 43 percent support Clinton.
But Condi gets higher marks for leadership. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed told Fox she's "strong and decisive." Fifty-one percent say the same is true for Hillary.
The same poll shows Dr. Rice defeating John Kerry, 45 to 43 percent.
In a problematic trend for Hillary, the Fox poll shows Democrats drifting to other candidates over the last 3 months - a period when Mrs. Clinton gained wide exposure for her comments criticizing President Bush's handling of the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
In June, 44 percent of Democrats wanted Hillary to be their standard bearer. Since then, Mrs. Clinton has slipped by two points. Former Vice President Al Gore, who wasn't included in the June survey, picked up 11 points in the new poll.
Though Rice's numbers are astonishing, the Fox poll found that Rudy Giuliani has a far better chance of defeating Hillary. He leads the former first lady by double digits - 50 to 39 percent.
He also tops the survey in the leadership category, with 65 percent saying he's "strong and decisive."
Sen. John McCain also trounces Hillary, 49 to 38 percent, with 56 percent saying he's "strong and decisive."
Opinion Dynamics surveyed 900 registered voters for Fox on September 27-28.