Poll: Bush ties Clinton in Florida

by David McCabe - 02/03/15 8:19 AM ET

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) would essentially tie former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) in the Sunshine State, if they ran against each other in a presidential contest, a poll released Tuesday found.

The poll of general election match-ups in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, produced by Quinnipiac University, also found that Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) would garner 43 percent support in his state to Clinton’s 44 percent.

But the poll found that Clinton continues to lead in hypothetical match-ups against most of the potential Republican candidates.

In Florida, she got 50 percent support or greater in hypothetical races with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. She even bested Sen. Marco Rubio (Fl.), 49 percent to 39 percent. Bush attracted 43 percent to Clinton’s 44 percent.

Clinton enjoyed significant support in Ohio, beating Bush, Christie, Paul and Huckabee by significant margins. She beat Bush by 47 percent to 36 percent and Christie 47 percent to 34 percent. Both are expected to receive support from the Republican establishment and its wealthy donors.

She also beat Christie in a match-up in Pennsylvania, 50 percent to 39 percent, despite his status as the governor of a neighboring state. She bested Huckabee, Bush, Paul and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) with at least 50 percent support.

The poll also found that Clinton enjoys higher favorability in the three swing states than the Republican candidates.

The poll had a sample of 936 voters in Florida with a margin of error of 3.2 percent, a sample of 943 Ohio voters with a margin of error of 3.2 percent and a sample of 881 voters in Pennsylvania with a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points. It was conducted from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1.

Clinton has yet to declare that she is running — or even announce an exploratory committee — but she is expected to become the favorite for the Democratic nomination should she run.

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