Romney, Clinton favored

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney have emerged as the leading presidential favorites among party insiders, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll, which found deep partisan divisions over the country's direction and top issues in the 2008 campaign.

The survey showed former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina in second place among Democratic Party leaders, ahead of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. It pointed up danger signs for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who trailed Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, the leader among Republicans in national voter surveys.

It also signaled GOP concerns about holding the White House for another four years — 42 percent of party leaders said it would be tougher to elect a Republican after eight years under President Bush, and just more than half said the GOP nominee should campaign on moving the country in a new direction.

"I love President Bush — I really do," Cindy Phillips, a Republican National committeewoman from Mississippi who is looking hard at Giuliani, said in a follow-up interview. "But you can't be the same as the person before you. You have to bring your own touch, your own ideas."

The poll surveyed members of the Democratic and Republican national committees, the governing bodies of the two major political parties. Although relatively few in number, these insiders could have an important role in deciding which of their candidates face each other in November 2008, thanks to the influence many wield in their states.

"The DNC and RNC members are not just delegates to the conventions," said Charlie Cook, a nonpartisan campaign analyst in Washington, of the national nominating events. "They are key organizers and opinion leaders. They can help build or kill a groundswell, make a candidate's challenge in a state easier or much harder. They matter a lot."

The poll also offers a different reading of sentiments than national voters surveys, which tend to be heavily influenced by name recognition at this early stage of the campaign.

A similar poll of DNC members about four years ago found significant backing for Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts as well as surprising support for Edwards and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean — at a time when the latter two made comparatively weak showings in voter surveys. The three ended up as the top contenders for the Democratic nomination, won by Kerry.

The Times Poll, directed by Susan Pinkus, interviewed 313 of 386 DNC members and 133 of 165 RNC members between Feb. 13 and 26. Since the poll attempted to interview current state members of each organization, rather than a random sample, there is no margin of error.