A new Quinnipiac poll released Thursday had some good news for Hillary Clinton — that is if she's still interested in running for president.
Clinton was the runaway leader in a group that included Vice President Joe Biden, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and up-and-coming Republicans Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan.
“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would start a 2016 presidential campaign with enormous advantages,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “She obviously is by far the best known and her more than 20 years in the public spotlight allows her to create a very favorable impression on the American people."
Brown went on to add a caveat: the institute's polling also gave Clinton a big advantage before the 2008 campaign, which Clinton eventually lost to President Barack Obama.
In head-to-head matchups, Clinton led all potential Republican challengers by huge margins. Her closest competition was Christie, who she led 45 percentage points to 37.
Even at this early date, the poll suggested that Clinton was the only choice if Democrats wanted to lock down a third consecutive term in the Oval Office. Results were mixed for the other liberal candidates.
Christie performed better than any other Republican in the poll, which could be a sticking point for some Republicans, noted Brown.
“Although some Republicans don’t think New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie is conservative enough for their taste, he runs best of the three Republicans tested and would defeat two of the top Democrats,” Brown said.
The news was not as good for Cuomo, who struggled against all three Republicans, performing best against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom he tied.
Who's your favorite of the group? Let us know in the comments section.
