Rudy Giuliani is pulling ahead of Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson in three key early states:

A new American Research Group poll shows Giuliani, the national front runner, pulling into a statistical tie in each of the three key early voting states. He's overtaken Mitt Romney to lead by a single point in Iowa and New Hampshire, while he tops Fred Thompson by a point in South Carolina. Rudy's climb in those states has followed a tremendous amount of time spent there in recent weeks. He's telling voters in New Hampshire that the GOP needs sweeping reform, and a candidate who can win across the country -- a statement that he believes his social liberalism can actually benefit his candidacy.

I think the rank and file is getting fatigued with the Thompson wait game. This combined with Giuliani's excellent performance in the debates held thus far, explains his lead in these polls.