ALBANY - Rudy Giuliani leads Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 48-43 percent in the race for president, and even ties the former first lady in the states that voted Democratic in 2004, a national poll yesterday showed.

Giuliani topped Clinton by a hefty 55-38 percent in heavily Republican "red states," tied her 46-46 in "blue states," and lagged in a virtual tie - 44-45 percent - in "purple states," where the margin of victory for either contender in 2004 was less than 7 percentage points, the Quinnipiac University survey found.

In what can be an important indicator of voter sentiment, 57 percent of voters viewed the ex-mayor favorably compared to just 46 percent for the senator.

The poll of 1,536 voters across the nation found that Clinton would also lose the presidential contest to Arizona Sen. John McCain, but by a narrower, 46-44 percent.

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