Rasmussen: Huckabee leads in Florida

First Iowa, where Romney was counting on winning; then South Carolina, where Fred Thompson was counting on winning; now Florida, where Rudy Giuliani was planning to rack up his first primary victory:

Mitt Romney’s strategy for winning the Republican nomination was to win the early states and build momentum. Rudy Giuliani’s plan was to accept defeats in the early states and come back strong on January 29 in Florida and in many large states on February 5.

The latest Rasmussen Reports polling in the state of Florida suggests that Giuliani might need to work on a “Plan B.’ Mike Huckabee now leads in the Sunshine State Primary with 27% of the vote. He is trailed closely by Romney at 23% and Giuliani at 19%. Fred Thompson is at 9% in the poll, John McCain at 6%, and Ron Paul at 4%. Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter each attract 1% and 8% are undecided.

Those figures reflect a stunning change in the race since November when Rasmussen Reports polling found Giuliani on top with 27% followed by Romney at 19% and Thompson at 16%. Since then, Huckabee has gained 18 percentage points and Romney picked up four points. Giuliani is down eight, Thompson is down seven, and McCain is down four.

Numbers like these suggest that establishment Republicans are painting themselves into a very tight corner with remarks like this:

Huckabee is an under-vetted former governor who is manifestly unprepared to be president of the United States. Like Dean, he is rising toward the top of polls in a crowded field based on his appeal to a particular niche of his party. As with Dean, his vulnerabilities in a general election are so screamingly obvious that it’s hard to believe that primary voters, once they focus seriously on their choice, will nominate him.

Poor Rich Lowry is missing the forest for the trees. Republican primary voters are in the process of nominating Mike Huckabee for president. It is happening right now, no matter how much the editorial staffs of the National Review and the Wall Street Journal would like to pretend otherwise.

If Lowry, Charles Krauthammer and Peggy Noonan don't come to grips with this, it's going to be a long walk back when Huckabee lands at the top of the ticket.