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Republican Governor Mark Sanford now leads State Senator Tommy Moore 51% to 39%.

Moore, who has just secured the Democratic nomination, by is likely enjoying a bit of a post-primary bounce; in May, Sanford led 52% to 33%. The new Rasmussen Reports poll of South Carolina's gubernatorial race was conducted two days after the primary election.

Governor Sanford is viewed favorably by 67% of voters, including 48% of Democrats; he is viewed unfavorably by 32%. Moore is viewed favorably by 51%, unfavorably by 31%. Eighteen percent (18%) of all voters, and 40% of unaffiliated voters, still don't know Moore well enough to give him thumbs up or thumbs down.

If re-elected, Sanford will be bucking a trend of sorts. The last two governors of the state were ousted after a single term. Both had initially been favored to win reelection, including Governor James Hodges, toppled by Sanford in 2002

Forty-eight percent (48%) of South Carolina voters approve of the job George W. Bush is doing as President. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapprove, 41% "strongly" so.

Though South Carolina is a "red" state that President Bush carried with 58% of the vote in 2004, a plurality of voters here say they would vote for a generic Democrat as President.

Even so, when asked about leading possible presidential contenders in 2008, voters tend to like Republicans better. Hillary Clinton is viewed favorably by 48% in our poll, Al Gore by 53%. (See our Hillary Meter for the latest data on how Hillary Clinton is viewed nationally.) By contrast, John McCain is viewed favorably by 67%, Rudy Giuliani by 63%.

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Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

Rasmussen Reports was the nation's most accurate polling firm during the Presidential election and the only one to project both Bush and Kerry's vote total within half a percentage point of the actual outcome.

During Election 2004, RasmussenReports.com was also the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web. We had twice as many visitors as our nearest competitor and nearly as many as all competitors combined.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.