Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio Offer Hillary Clinton Close Fight in Florida

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton starts off 2016 with a lead in Florida over her potential Republican rivals but two candidates from the Sunshine State are keeping it close.

A poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, finds Clinton edges out former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., 46 percent to 45 percent in a potential 2016 matchup. Clinton does slightly better against U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., beating him 48 percent to 44 percent.

Clinton does better against the other Republican hopefuls, beating U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., by 6 percent, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., by 7 percent, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., by 8 percent and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, by 11 percent.

Half of those surveyed -- 50 percent -- want Bush to stay out of 2016 while 35 percent say he should run. Rubio does even worse with 59 percent saying the senator should not run for president while 27 percent think he should.

Despite her leads, Clinton is upside down in the Sunshine State with 47 percent seeing her as unfavorable while 46 percent see her in a favorable light. A slim majority -- 51 percent -- see Bush as favorable while 35 percent view him as unfavorable.

The poll of 672 Florida voters was taken from June 6-9 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percent.