WASHINGTON - Retired Gen. Wesley Clark has taken the lead in South Carolina, bumping Sen. John Edwards from the top spot in the state with a Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary, according to a poll out Friday.

Clark had the support of 17 percent, while Edwards had the backing of 10 percent in the poll by the American Research Group of Manchester, N.H. More than a third, 36 percent, were undecided.

Clark was scheduled to make his first campaign stop in Columbia, S.C., on Friday afternoon.

Edwards led among South Carolina voters in this same poll in September, with the backing of 16 percent, 9 points ahead of his closest competitors. Edwards, a Seneca, S.C., native who now lives in North Carolina, is counting on a strong showing in South Carolina and has spent more than $600,000 on campaign ads there.

Clark, a former NATO commander, entered the race in mid-September, hoping to build support in states with Feb. 3 contests including South Carolina, which has a strong military tradition.

Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut senator, was at 8 percent, while Dick Gephardt, a Missouri congressman, and Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, had the backing of 7 percent each. The Rev. Al Sharpton and Carol Moseley Braun were at 5 percent each. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was at 4 percent, and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich was at 1 percent.

The poll of 600 voters who said they definitely would vote in the Democratic primary was conducted Oct. 26-30 and has a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage points.