ELON -- A new Elon University poll has southerners picking two New Yorkers for president. Voters in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida picked Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani.

Typically the South votes for more conservative candidates in both parties. So is the region voting more liberal or is it too early to tell?

Jim Culbertson spends much of his time these days on the phone raising money for Giuliani.

"My day is generally eight to ten hours a day working for Rudy, dialing for dollars, setting up events in other towns in North Carolina, and working a bit in some other states," said Culbertson, who is Giuliani's North Carolina chairman.

Beyond North Carolina's John Edwards, few of the campaigns have staff in the state. North Carolina's late primary leaves the state in the dust when it comes to influence nationally. That means the state's money is worth more than the votes.

But in the latest Elon University poll of southern voters, Giuliani does lead Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney with more than 24 percent of the vote with the other candidates in the teens.

On the Democratic ticket, Hillary Clinton has a huge lead over Barack Obama, and John Edwards is in a distant third. Clinton has 45 percent of the vote compared to Obama with 17 percent and Edwards with just 11 percent in his home state.

Clinton and Giuliani are both New Yorkers and considered more liberal within their own parties. While North Carolina voters tend to vote more conservatively in federal elections, pundits say the results don't mean the state is leaning more left.

"None of the major candidates has sort of gone into the southeastern states with advertising or tremendous public appearances so people are just really indicating what they know -- and that's just a name," explained Dr. David McLennan, a political professtor at Peace College.

But some believe Giuliani may get votes in the South because he has a better chance in the general election.

"The Republicans bode well with Giuliani because he might pull some Democrats who are dissatisfied with Clinton at the top of the ticket," added Elon poll director Hunter Bacot.

Giuliani's North Carolina chairman says it's not about right or left, it's about leadership.

"I think it's a matter of southerners expect leadership and Rudy is perceived and is in fact a leader and thats going to be a main issue in this election," said Culbertson.

On the Democratic side, the poll clearly shows at this moment it's Hillary Clinton's race to lose in the South.

The Elon poll included telephone interviews with nearly 1,400 people. It has a 2.7 percent margin of error.