2016 poll: Clinton tops likely GOP rivals

Hillary Clinton (D) leads every Republican challenger in hypothetical 2016 presidential match-ups, according to a McClatchy-Marist poll released on Wednesday.

{mosads}Clinton is far and away the favorite to be her party’s presidential nominee, with 63 percent of Democrats favoring her candidacy. Vice President Biden is a distant second at 13 percent.

The Republican field is tight at the top, with GOP-leaning voters preferring New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the party’s candidate at 15 percent, followed by Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) at 13 percent, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla) at 12 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) at 9 percent, Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) at 7 percent, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 4 percent support.

In a head-to-head match-up, Christie fairs best against Clinton, but trails the former secretary of State 47 percent to 41 percent. In the same poll from April, Clinton edged Christie by 3 percentage points, 46 percent to 43 percent.

Clinton and Christie are two of the most popular political figures in the country.

According to a Quinnipiac University study released earlier this month, Clinton has a 55 percent favorability rating, while 38 percent of voters had an unfavorable view. Christie has a 45 percent favorability rating and 18 percent unfavorable. The New Jersey governor is also viewed favorably by a plurality of Democrats by a margin of 41 percent to 19 percent.


Bush is the next closest contender in the McClatchy-Marist poll, trailing Clinton 48 percent to 40 percent. Clinton leads Rubio 50 percent to 38 percent, Paul 50 percent to 38 percent, Ryan 53 percent to 37 percent, and Perry by 52 percent support to 36 percent.

None of the potential candidates have publicly committed to a 2016 run. However, Ready for Hillary, a super-PAC pushing the former New York senator to run, is loaded with former Obama campaign activists.


The Marist-McClatchy poll of 1,204 adults was conducted between July 15-18 and has a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.