A month ago U.S. Senator Barack Obama was surging and it seemed possible that he would soon overtake Senator Hillary Clinton as the Democrats first choice for President in the 2008 elections. In April, he trailed Clinton by only 5 percentage points with 32 percent, compared to her 37 percent. However, a new Harris Poll finds Senator Clinton has since strengthened her position and that Senator Obama has slipped. She now leads Obama by fully 13 points -- 40 percent to 27 percent.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,523 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive(R) between May 3 and 10, 2007. This survey included 1,022 adults who expect to vote in a Democratic primary or caucus and like all polls conducted well before an election, it should not be read as a prediction. Rather, it is a snap shot of the presidential "horse race", at a very early stage in the race. A previous column reviewed the data on the Republican candidates.

Before being asked to pick their first choice in the primary elections, the adults surveyed were shown a list of all the main candidates in both parties and some other well know Republicans and Democrats, and asked which of them they would considervoting for. They could name as many people, in both parties, as they wished.

Among Democrats, more people say they would consider voting for Hillary Clinton (74%) than for Barack Obama (62%). However, Obama leads Clinton among Independents (by 39% to 34%) and among Republicans (by 14% to 7%).

The only other Democrats who attract more than a very small number of supporters are former Vice President Al Gore with 13 percent and former U.S. Senator John Edwards with 12 percent. They are, therefore, still a long way behind Clinton and Obama and show no signs of moving up.

Overall Democratic leaders continue to be preferred over Republicans

When the replies of all adults are taken together, 71 percent would consider voting for one of the Democrats and 58 percent would consider voting for one of the Republican leaders. This 71 percent to 58 percent Democratic lead is identical to their lead in February and slightly larger than their lead in March and April. - The Harris Poll