Romney regains lead in Iowa polls

But while the ordained Baptist preacher still leads among the state's influential evangelical Christians, he's lost 8 points among them.

Romney, who had led in the state for months before dropping to second place, regained 7 points since early December.

Iowa Republicans gave him their highest favorable rating, and he ranked first among GOP voters looking for experience, leadership and the ability to win in November. He also led among voters who ranked immigration, taxes or terrorism their top concerns.

A key gain: He now has the support of 27 percent of the state's evangelical Christian Republicans, up sharply from 8 percent several weeks ago. Concerns about his Mormon faith appear to have ebbed.

One warning sign for Romney: one-third of his supporters say they still could defect to a rival, while only 22 percent of Huckabee's backers say that.

Among Democrats:

—Edwards, the former U.S. senator from North Carolina, has the support of 24 percent

—Sen. Clinton of New York has 23 percent
—Sen. Obama of Illinois has 22 percent
—Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico has 12 percent
—Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware has 8 percent
—Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut has 2 percent

—Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio has 1 percent
—Undecided: 8 percent

One in five Iowa Democrats say they could still change their minds. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus five percentage points.

While the survey shows a virtual statistical tie, it also shows Edwards with some momentum heading into the final days. He's gained 3 percentage points since McClatchy-MSNBC polled Iowa before the holidays, while Clinton lost 4 points and Obama lost 3 points.

Also gaining were Richardson and Biden, each picking up 3 points.

The second tier is particularly important in Iowa's Democratic caucuses, where a candidate can win delegates only if they register at least 15 percent support in each town hall-like precinct meeting. Voters whose candidates don't make that threshold can support someone else.

As of now, that appears to help Edwards.

If all second-tier Democratic candidates fall short and their supporters switch to other candidates, Edwards gains the most, rolling up a clear lead at 33 percent to 26 percent each for Clinton and Obama.

Edwards, pushing a people-versus-the powerful message, owes his gains to voters looking for a general election winner, someone who agrees with them on the issues, and those who rank Iraq their top concern. Key demographic slices for him include men and union members.