And when I say “slight”, I mean “slight“. Pay attention to where Giuliani and Thompson supporters are going, which is where many of us predicted.

Among Republicans, Mitt Romney has gained the most from the narrowing field. While he has stayed in the low to mid teens since summer, conservative Thompson and Giuliani voters have picked Romney over John McCain, raising his support to 30%, a hair ahead of the Arizona Senator’s 29%. Mike Huckabee follows with 20%, down for the second poll in a row.

Men choose Mitt by a 9-point gap, while women choose McCain by a 9-point margin. This shouldn’t be surprising:

Compared to earlier ratings, it is clear that Romney’s new supporters are much more conservative than McCain’s. Romney supporters were 30% more likely to give illegal immigration the top rating. Half gave global warming the lowest rating, compared to only 20% for McCain supporters. Ratings for both healthcare and the economy were much lower. Only a quarter of Romney’s supporters would support even a gradual reduction in troop levels in Iraq, while this idea had around 40% approval from supporters of McCain and Huckabee, as well as undecided Republicans. In earlier polls, Romney supporters were much closer to the average. In contrast, McCain’s supporters were more moderate this time when compared to the last poll. This suggests conservative supporters of former candidates are moving to Romney while the moderates are moving to McCain.

Conservatives choose Romney, moderates Republicans choose McCain. That’s the same result that was found in Florida, with conservatives supporting Romney by something like 40-27.

*cough*