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THE NUMBERS - DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama, 30 percent

Hillary Rodham Clinton, 28 percent

John Edwards, 14 percent

Bill Richardson, 7 percent

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THE NUMBERS - REPUBLICANS

Mitt Romney, 28 percent

John McCain, 25 percent

Rudy Giuliani, 14 percent

Mike Huckabee, 10 percent

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OF INTEREST: The poll shows the race tightening for both Democrats and Republicans. John McCain has closed a gap with longtime front-runner Mitt Romney. A Globe poll last month had McCain in third place with 17 percent of likely Republican primary voters favoring him compared to Romney's 32 percent. The two are now nearly in a dead heat, with McCain's surge knocking Rudy Giuliani into third place in the poll. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama also has made gains on Hillary Rodham Clinton. A month ago, Clinton held the lead with 35 percent of likely Democratic primary voters saying they favored her, compared to 21 percent for Obama. The two are also now in a virtual dead heat. When asked which candidate has the best chance of beating the Republican nominee, 40 percent of voters said Clinton and 29 percent said Obama, a much narrower gap than a month ago. When Republican voters were asked which candidate has the best chance of beating the Democratic nominee, Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, topped the list with 34 percent, followed by Giuliani with 28 percent and McCain with 10 percent.

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