(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are divided over the outcome of the next presidential election, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 19 per cent of respondents think Republican Arizona senator John McCain will most likely be their next head of state, while 17 per cent select Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Former Democratic North Carolina senator John Edwards, former Republican New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Democratic Illinois senator Barack Obama are tied for third place with 14 per cent, followed by former Republican Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Democratic vice-president Al Gore with three per cent each.

In 2000, McCain won seven Republican presidential primaries in the U.S., but retired from the race after eventual nominee George W. Bush became the frontrunner. Rodham Clinton—a former first lady—has served in the U.S. Senate since 2001.

On Jan. 14, McCain expressed his support for U.S. president George W. Bush's plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq, declaring, "I can't guarantee it will succeed, but I can guarantee catastrophe if we fail or continue the present strategy—and that is that we will go in and we will clear and hold and build."

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Democratic nominee John Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The next presidential election is scheduled for November 2008.

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