Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush Closing in on Chris Christie in National Poll

A new national poll finds Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is leading the field of Republican presidential candidates in 2016, but two favorite sons from Florida are hot on his trail while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a heavy favorite for the Democratic nod.

Rasmussen Reports unveiled a poll on Wednesday which shows 21 percent of Republicans want Christie as their presidential nominee in 2016. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., places a close second with 18 percent. Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, the son and brother of former presidents, places third with 16 percent followed by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., with 15 percent. U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., best known for being Mitt Romneys running mate in 2012, takes 13 percent while fellow Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker takes 6 percent.

But the poll also finds Christie is also the most unpopular candidate, with 31 percent of those surveyed saying the New Jersey governor is their least favorite candidate for the GOPs nominee in 2016 while 16 percent say that about Paul and 15 percent say that about Bush. The other candidates garner less opposition, with 9 percent saying Walker is their least favorite candidate, 6 percent pointing to Ryan and 5 percent saying Rubio is their least favorite Republican hopeful.

The poll of 1,000 likely voters was taken from August 1- 2 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.