(Xinhuanet) -- U.S. Democratic presidential forerunner Hillary Clinton lags behind all five top Republican rivals in general election match-ups, according to a poll released on Monday. Clinton would lose a general election to Republicans Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mike Huckabee by three to five percentage points in a head-to-head race, the survey by Zogby Interactive showed.
In July, Clinton held a five point lead in the same poll over Giuliani, edged out McCain by two points and had a clear lead over other contenders. "The questions about her electability have always been there, but as we get close this suggests that is a problem," Zogby said.
Clinton's top Democratic contenders, Barack Obama and John Edwards, still hold narrow leads over the Republican candidates in a hypothetical 2008 race, the survey showed. "It all points to a very competitive general election at a time when many people think the Democrats are going to win the White House," Zogby said.
The Zogby poll was conducted online among 9,150 likely voters across the United States between Nov. 21 and 26, and carried a margin of error of plus or minus one percentage point.