Former Governor Mike Huckabee has regained a tie for the lead in the South Carolina GOP Republican poll according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey released just today.  The poll is the first one taken since the Michigan primary on Tuesday which John McCain lost to Mitt Romney.  Huckabee finished a strong third in Michigan having been outspent about 50-1. 

Huckabee had been leading the South Carolina polling consistently for several weeks until McCain's win in New Hampshire.  McCain then pulled ahead of Huckabee for over a week until this new poll was released today.  The "average" poll currently at RealClearPolitics.com include several South Carolina polls prior to the Michigan context, which it appears has softened the bounce McCain may have had since New Hampshire.

Here is a excerpt from the Rasmussen article today:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of South Carolina’s Republican Presidential Primary shows that John McCain and Mike Huckabee are tied at 24%. In a race that has already seen four different candidates with the lead, much could still change in the coming days--7% of voters have yet to make up their mind, 10% say there’s a good chance they could change their mind, and another 24% might change their mind.

The latest survey was conducted the night after Mitt Romney’s victory in Michigan. In South Carolina McCain and Huckabee have been battling for the top spot for several weeks. Huckabee was ahead following his victory in Iowa. McCain took a narrow lead after his victory in New Hampshire. Then, just before the Michigan Primary, McCain opened a nine-point lead, 28% to 19%. McCain’s lead grew as Fred Thompson chipped away at Huckabee’s support.

Seventeen percent (17%) of the state’s Likely Republican Primary Voters named national security as the top issue while 14% said the War in Iraq.  McCain and Huckabee are essentially even among those who name the War in Iraq as their top priority.