Presidential contender Jeb Bush is leading the 2016 GOP field in the battleground state of Virginia as well as beating Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, according to a new poll.
The former Florida governor tops Florida Sen. Marco Rubio by a single point, 17 percent to 16 percent, with the rest of the pack at least 7 points back,
says the study by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.
In a head-to-head 2016 showdown with Clinton, Bush was ahead by 2 points, 48 percent to 46 percent, after lagging 5 points behind the former secretary of state in a poll taken in February before Clinton came under fire for conducting official government duties on her private email server.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul received 10 percent of the votes in a potential GOP race for the White House,
The Washington Times reports.
Retired neurosurgeon and outspoken conservative Ben Carson had 7 percent along with tea party favorite Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the poll revealed. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was close behind them with 6 percent of the vote.
"The Republican field continues to be very fluid," said Tom Kramer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy. "While there are no break-out candidates yet, we do see a sorting taking place, with Bush and Rubio emerging as top-tier candidates, and Christie, Paul and Walker forming a solid second-tier.
"Battleground Virginia will live up to its name in 2016. In the face of a barrage of attacks from her real and potential Republican challengers, Clinton’s once formidable position has weakened, as we knew it would.
"Even at this early stage, the presidential election in Virginia is shaping up to be a closely fought contest."
Clinton tops Christie by 2 points, down 5 points from February, and she also leads Paul by 2 points and Rubio by 4 points, down from 10 points and 9 points, respectively, since February. She’s also ahead of Huckabee by 3 points after leading him by 10 points in February, according to the Times.
The survey of 658 registered voters was conducted from April 13-24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percent.
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