Polls of early states released this weekend show former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., does not start out the 2016 Republican primaries as strong as his father did in 1988 or his brother did in 2000, but he and Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., are the only Republicans who break double digits in three key states.
An NBC/Marist poll of Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus, shows both Bush and Walker are in the mix in the Hawkeye State though they trail former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., who won the caucus back in 2008. Huckabee leads with 17 percent followed by Bush with 16 percent and Walker with 15 percent. Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., takes 9 percent with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., garnering 7 percent. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Dr. Ben Carson are knotted together with 6 percent apiece. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who won the caucus in 2012, takes 5 percent while former Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, pulls 4 percent. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, gets 2 percent and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., lags with 1 percent.
After Iowa, New Hampshire holds the first primary. An NBC/Marist poll shows Bush leads in the Granite State with 18 percent followed by Walker with 15 percent, Paul with 14 percent and Christie with 13 percent. Huckabee and Carson take 7 percent each while Cruz and Rubio claim 6 percent apiece. Perry, Graham and Santorum are at the bottom with 1 percent each.
Graham leads in his home state of South Carolina which holds its primary after New Hampshire. An NBC/Marist poll finds Graham with 17 percent in South Carolina followed by Bush with 15 percent and Walker with 12 percent. Huckabee and Carson take 10 percent each while Paul gets 7 percent. Christie garners 6 percent followed by Rubio and Perry with 4 percent each. Santorum gets 3 percent and Cruz takes 1 percent.
The poll of 320 Iowa Republicans was taken from Feb. 3-10 and had a margin of error of +/- 5.5 percent. The poll of 381 New Hampshire Republicans was taken during the same period and had a margin of error of +/- 5 percent. The poll of 450 South Carolina Republicans was taken during the same period and had a margin of error of +/- 4.6 percent.
Over on the Democratic side, former U.S. Secreetary of State Hillary Clinton led the NBC/Marist polls in all three states, with 68 percent in Iowa, 69 percent in New Hampshire and 65 percent in South Carolina. Vice President Joe Biden placed second in Iowa with 12 percent and was the runner-up in South Carolina with 20 percent. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took second in New Hampshire with 13 percent while Biden pulled 8 percent in the Granite State. In Iowa, Sanders took 7 percent but pulled only 3 percent to finish distant third in South Carolina. Former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., and former Gov. Martin OMalley, D-Md., lagged in low single digits in all three states.
The poll of 321 Iowa Democrats was taken from Feb. 3-10 and had a margin of error of +/- 5.5 percent. The poll of 309 New Hampshire Democrats was taken during the same period and had a margin of error of +/- 5.6 percent. The poll of 352 South Carolina Democrats was taken during the same period and had a margin of error of +/- 5.2 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
