Ms Clinton has opened a 21-point edge over her nearest rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, leading him by 43 per cent to 22 per cent, according to The Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, up from a 14-point lead in a June poll.
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is third with 13 per cent. Four other Democrats are in single digits.
The poll suggested that the top two Democrat nominees would defeat Republican front-runner, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, if elections were held now. Ms Clinton will beat Giuliani by six points — 47 per cent to 41 per cent; while Obama will win by 45 per cent to 40 per cent.
In a three-way contest among Clinton, Giuliani and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg running as an independent, the poll shows Ms Clinton winning with 42 per cent of the vote to Giuliani’s 34 per cent and Bloomberg’s 11 per cent. This is a clear suggestion that Bloomberg — who has not thrown his hat in the Presidential fray — will steal more support from the Republican than from the Democrat.
The poll was conducted days after the Democratic candidates’ most-recent debate in which Ms Clinton differed from Obama in saying that if elected she wouldn’t commit to meet with several world leaders antagonistic to the US during her first year in office.
The two lawmakers have been arguing about the issue and Ms Clinton at one point called Obama “irresponsible and frankly, naive.” The Illinois Democrat slammed Ms Clinton’s position, calling it “Bush-Cheney Lite,” referring to the position taken by President George Bush.