Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

First Read has a poll from Georgia that has Mike Huckabee in the lead:

Huckabee 23%
Thompson 20% 
Giulaini 17% 
McCain 11%
Romney 10% 

This is a pretty significant poll for Huckabee because, with the SC poll, it shows that he is beginning to supplant Fred Thompson as the South's favorite son. Huckabee is up from 5% in a similar October poll. Thompson was at 39% in that same poll.

It's important to note that no candidates have run any ads in the Feb. 5 states yet. That means that this poll is driven heavily by name ID, and it is a testament to Huckabee's earned media effort.

Georgia, who holds its primary on Feb. 5, is one of the states that underpins Thompson's Southern strategy. If he loses the opening salvo in South Carolina to Huckabee on Jan. 19, it's hard to see him making it to Round 2 on Feb. 5.