With the first primary contests less than two weeks away, Senator John McCain has gained a six-point lead over Senator Hillary Clinton in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey.

A month ago, McCain had a two-point edge over the former First Lady. However, before that, Clinton edged out McCain by at least a point or two in six consecutive surveys of the match-up (see trend history).

The current survey finds that Clinton fares better in another match-up. She leads former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 47% to 43%. Clinton has led Huckabee in six consecutive surveys with margins ranging from one to eight percentage points (see trend history).

The Senator from Arizona is currently viewed favorably by 55% of the nation’s voters. That’s the most positive rating of any Presidential candidate in either party (see ratings and other key stats for all Republican and Democratic candidates). McCain also has the lowest level of core opposition among the leading candidates—just 33% of voters say they will definitely vote against him if he is on the ballot.

As noted in a recent analysis, it’s a good time to be John McCain, He has increased his support in Iowa and is within a few points of the lead in New Hampshire.

Clinton has the highest level of core opposition—47% say they will definitely vote against her if she wins the nomination. She is viewed favorably by 45%. The Senator from New York continues to lead all Democrats nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. However, the race for the Democratic nomination is very close in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters nationwide have a favorable opinion of Huckabee while 42% have an unfavorable view.

McCain is viewed as politically conservative by 31% of voters and moderate by 45%. That positions him near the nation’s political center.

Huckabee is seen as being to the right of McCain—43% say the former Arkansas Governor is politically conservative and just 24% see him as moderate.

Clinton is viewed to the left of McCain—54% see her as politically liberal while 31% see her as moderate.

Democrats see little ideological difference between their leading Presidential candidates. However, Republican voters see a wide gap between their candidates. At one extreme, just 21% see Rudy Giuliani as politically conservative. At the other end, 50% see Fred Thompson as politically conservative.

An earlier survey found that 41% of American voters say they are conservative when it comes to “fiscal issues such as taxes, government spending, and business regulation” while 37% say they are conservative when it comes to “social issues like abortion, public prayer, and church-state topics.” Overall, 24% Are Both Fiscal and Socially Conservatives, 9% Fiscally and Socially Liberal.

He then also trailed Barack Obama by four points, and more recently trails John Edwards by 12. McCain trails Edwards by seven points in a recent poll but also leads Barack Obama by two points.

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