Senator John McCain has big lead in California

Senator John McCain, (photo) has big lead in California

One week before California throws itself into the presidential contest, John McCain hold an imposing lead in his race for his party's nominations, but the battles remains extremely volatile, a new statewide poll has found.

The L.A. Times/CNN/Politico poll, conducted by Opinion Research Corp., showed that McCain has vaulted ahead of three other candidates with whom he shared a statistical tie for the Republican nomination just two weeks ago.

He carried 39% of likely Republican primary participants, to 26% for former Governor Mitt Romney, who also bolstered his standing among California voters. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Governor Mike Huckabee were stalled at essentially the same level as two weeks ago -- 13% and 11%, respectively.