The Charlotte Observer and WCNC-TV released a new poll of 600 Mecklenburg County (NC) voters, 201 residents from rest of North Carolina and 300 South Carolinians. And the results are startling.

On the GOP side, John McCain seems to have fully recovered from his early July slump. This will be the last significant poll of the preseason, and for McCain the first place finish shows a big boost entering the post-Labor Day regular season. The support is likely a result of recent successes in Iraq courtesy of the military troop surge, a move McCain has been very vocal in endorsing. And with hope for victory in Iraq and the War on Terror at its highest point in years, McCain’s military experience seems to be the strongest underlying factor keeping voters interested.

Percentage-wise, Giuliani sits about where he has in other polls. An undetermined amount of the more than 45 “none/undecided/another GOP” points likely belong to Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee and the second tier.

For Democrats, Hillary Clinton has gained an ASTRONOMICAL lead over the rest of the field. This poll once again confirms that she may be well on her way to locking up a win in South Carolina and possibly sweeping the nomination process. Obama and Edwards are a DISTANT second and third and the “undecided/none” number is MUCH lower on the GOP side. Also of note, only 2.7 percent favor another candidate, showing that there is no room for a second tier dark horse on the Democratic side.

REPUBLICANS:

John McCain – 20.1%
Rudy Giuliani – 19.2%
None – 15.4%
Undecided – 15.1%
Mitt Romney – 14.7%
Another GOP – 14.7%

DEMOCRATS:

Hillary Clinton – 52.4%
Barack Obama – 16.7%
John Edwards – 14.3%
Undecided – 8.6%
None – 5.3%
Another Dem – 2.7%

(h/t TIME’s RCP blog)