Rasmussen: Fred Second, McPain Takes a Big Drop

No real surprises here: Rudeeee!! is now first, Fred!!! is second, and McPain may as well quit:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) remains on top, but his support has slipped to 23%. That’s down two points from a week ago and is his lowest level of support all year. Earlier, Giuliani had consistently enjoyed support in the mid-30s. That was before Thompson’s name was added to the mix and before Giuliani stumbled on the abortion issue in the first GOP debate of the season.

Thompson, who just formed an exploratory committee and is the newest face in the race, immediately moved into second place. With 17% support, he is within six points of the frontrunner. That’s closer than anybody has been to Giuliani in 20 consecutive weekly polls. Thompson is also competitive in a variety of general election match-ups with potential Democratic nominees.

Among men, Thompson earns 21% support while Giuliani attracts 20%.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the top choice for 15% of those likely to vote in a GOP primary. That’s little changed from the last couple of weeks and keeps him a single-point ahead of Arizona Senator John McCain who is preferred by 14%.

McCain was once seen as the dominant frontrunner for the nomination. He lost that status early in the year when polls consistently placed him in second behind Giuliani. However, as the immigration debate unfolded, he slipped to third place last week and fourth place now. McCain is the only Republican candidate to strongly support the immigration bill currently being debated in the Senate. Just 26% of Americans favor passage of that bill. Only 9% of Republicans believe the current legislation would actually reduce illegal immigration.

At 14%, he's just behind GWBush.