Republican Rudy Giuliani is the early frontrunner in Florida, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 47 per cent of respondents in the Sunshine State would support the former New York City mayor in the 2008 United States presidential election, while 42 per cent would vote for Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Giuliani also holds a 12-point lead over Illinois senator Barack Obama, and an eight-point edge over former North Carolina senator John Edwards. The three Democratic presidential hopefuls hold the upper hand in contests against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.