(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Hillary Rodham Clinton remains the most popular contender for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in the United States, according to a poll by Hart/McInturff released by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. 45 per cent of respondents would vote for the New York senator in a 2008 primary.

Illinois senator Barack Obama is second with 23 per cent, followed by former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 13 per cent. Support is lower for Delaware senator Joe Biden, Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, and Connecticut senator Chris Dodd.

On Dec. 21, Richardson discussed the election, saying, "This presidential race should be decided on who has the best plan to get out of Iraq because Iraq is at the center of whether America can come together again, whether we can have a health care plan, whether we can have clean energy and create jobs. Because of the huge expenditures we've made in Iraq we can't focus on our domestic priorities."