Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Two New Yorkers dominate the 2008 presidential race: Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.

A new Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll shows that Senator Clinton has opened up a 31-point gap over her chief Democratic rival, Barack Obama, leading 48 percent to 17 percent. She also runs ahead of all Republicans in general-election matchups, with only Giuliani coming close, trailing by 6 percentage points.

The poll shows that a number of Clinton's perceived weaknesses, from her failed 1994 health-care plan to her decision to stay with her husband after he had an affair with a White House intern, aren't liabilities. Driving her support are women voters, a central focus of the Clinton campaign, which is pushing such programs as expanded paid family leave and affordable health insurance.

``Clinton is really solidifying her Democratic support,'' said Susan Pinkus, the Los Angeles Times polling director. ``She is getting the backing of many of the major groups among the Democratic primary voters.''

Giuliani, 63, is backed by 32 percent of likely Republican voters, more than double the support of his closest rival, Fred Thompson, who has 15 percent. Following closely behind are Senator John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Giuliani's lead is his biggest of the year in this poll.

Undisputed Leader

The former New York mayor leads among his party's moderates, conservatives, most income groups and both men and women. Among self-described Christian conservative voters, who make up almost 30 percent of Republicans, he runs about even with Thompson and well ahead of the other contenders. The poll defines these voters as people who say they believe the Bible is to be taken literally.

``Giuliani's toughness and leadership qualities seem to be trumping traditional Republican positions,'' said Scott Reed, a Republican strategist not aligned with any campaign.

With the 2008 caucuses and primaries only 10 weeks away, Clinton, 59, and Giuliani have gotten consistently stronger throughout this year. The two were slated to run against each other for the U.S. Senate in 2000 before Giuliani dropped out after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Clinton's commanding lead in the Democratic field is being fueled by strong backing among both men and women, as well as minorities. By more than a 2-to-1 margin, all voters think it's a good thing that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, would be in a position to offer advice on issues in the White House; Democrats believe this by a margin of 71 percent to 5 percent.

Benefiting From Bill

``The man knows his way around the international arena and he knows policy in a pretty in-depth way,'' said Matthew Tirman, a 27-year-old consultant from Great Falls, Virginia, in a follow- up interview.

The Oct. 19-22 poll surveyed 1,039 registered voters, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points; for Democratic and Republican voters it was 4 points.

Among the poll's other findings: Only 5 percent of Democratic primary voters and 28 percent of Republicans believe it was a mistake for Clinton to stay with her husband after he had the affair. Almost half of all voters say her unsuccessful attempt to pass health-care legislation during Bill Clinton's administration will help her overhaul the system if she is elected.

`Panic Among Republicans'

Giuliani has made the threat posed by Clinton a centerpiece of his campaign, with repeated warnings that he is the only Republican candidate who has a chance of defeating her.

There is ``the perception that he can beat Hillary and there's panic among Republicans that she's almost unstoppable without him,'' said John Feehery, an unaligned Republican strategist.

In a potential trouble sign for Giuliani, the poll finds that 38 percent of Republican primary voters say they would only vote for an opponent of abortion and gay rights. Giuliani has a record of supporting both. Almost one-third of voters who say they want abortion to be illegal back him, suggesting that some may not yet be familiar with his views.

Moreover, more than 60 percent of all Republicans and almost the same share of Giuliani backers say they may end up voting for another candidate.

``Right now, Giuliani leads in all groups, but that support is soft,'' said Pinkus, the Los Angeles Times Poll director. ``The Republicans' choices are very, very squishy. Things could change.''

Third-Party Candidate?

Giuliani also faces the prospect of religious voters backing an anti-abortion and gay rights third-party candidate in the general election.

A majority of Christian conservatives and 34 percent of all Republican primary voters say they would like to see a third- party candidate if the Republican nominee has a background of supporting abortion and gay rights.

Thompson, 65, finishes behind Giuliani in all age categories, most income levels and both genders. Men back Giuliani by 34 percent and Thompson by 15 percent; women support Giuliani by 27 percent and Thompson by 18 percent.

Among self-described conservatives, Giuliani gets 34 percent, outpacing Thompson's 19 percent. Giuliani, the only Catholic in the contest, also gets 35 percent of that vote among Republican primary voters. In a general-election matchup, Clinton and Giuliani each get 48 percent support from Catholics.

Thompson's 15 percent overall support is a drop from the 21 percent he scored in the June Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. Since entering the race on Sept. 5, he has been criticized for running a sluggish campaign.

McCain, Huckabee

McCain, 71, who once led the field, is now at 13 percent. Romney, who is counting on winning early contests in New Hampshire and Iowa to stay in the race, has 11 percent in the national poll.

Huckabee, 52, with 7 percent support, is still far from his goal of breaking into the top-tier candidates.

Although the poll provides more good news for Clinton than for any other Democratic candidate, there are troubling indicators. Almost one-third of Democratic voters believe she's a polarizing figure who will have trouble winning a general election. And she maintains high unfavorable ratings, at 44 percent, among the general voting public. Her favorable rating is 48 percent.

``She's not as likeable as some of the other candidates, and they're more electable,'' said Michael Grant, a 31-year-old attorney from Chicago who is a registered Democrat. ``She is polarizing.''

Core Constituency

Among the groups that give Clinton a strong margin of support are self-described moderates, voters age 45 to 64, non- whites and those who earn less than $40,000 a year.

Women are her core constituency. Fifty-nine percent of women age 45 and older support her, according to the poll. Women who earn less than $40,000 a year back Clinton over Obama by a margin of 40 percent to 18 percent. She has a similar lead among women making $60,000 or more.

Obama, a 46-year-old senator from Illinois, has slipped 12 points among voters age 18 to 44. He has also lost support among whites, males and college-educated voters.

Clinton picked up 17 percentage points from the last survey in June among younger voters and made big gains among college graduates, men and those who earn more than $60,000 a year.

Overall, Obama lost 5 points from the last survey. John Edwards came in third at 13 percent, while the other candidates are in the single digits.

Most Ethical

Among Democrats, 28 percent of voters rate Clinton as the most ethical or truthful candidate, compared with 21 percent who choose Obama and 17 percent who select Edwards.

Those who have an unfavorable impression of Clinton cited weak ethics or dishonesty, liberal policies and a cold personality.

Voters show understanding of her decision to stay with her husband after learning he had an extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Women are as supportive of her decision as men. Thirty-four percent of women say it was neither right nor wrong.

``I wouldn't want to have somebody tell me I made the wrong decision,'' said Maureen Daugherty, a 46-year-old independent voter from Aurora, Colorado, who said she is divorced.

A plurality, 49 percent, also believe that Clinton will be able to put her experience on health care legislation more than a decade ago to good use as president.

``I liked the concept,'' said Genevieve Golec, an 83-year- old retired Federal Reserve clerk in Palisade, Colorado. ``With every insurance company now, when you quit one job and go to another, you have no coverage.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Heidi Przybyla in Washington at hprzybyla@bloomberg.net; Edwin Chen in Washington at echen32@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 24, 2007 09:12 EDT