Rasmussen Reports released a poll of likely voters on Monday which shows Dr. Ben Carson and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., running closer to Clinton than other Republicans in possible 2016 match-ups.
Carson, a prominent neurosurgeon who entered the political realm in 2013 when he criticized President Barack Obamas federal health-care law at the National Prayer Breakfast, has increasingly shown signs of running for the Republican nomination in 2016. After retiring from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, Carson, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor, is now based out of West Palm Beach.
The poll shows Clinton ahead of Carson, 45 percent to 38 percent. Paul also trails Clinton by 7 percent with the Democrat up 46 percent to 39 percent.
Clinton does better against other potential Republican candidates, beating Rubio by 11 percent, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, by 13 percent and two governors -- Chris Christie of New Jersey and Rick Perry of Texas -- by 14 percent. A Rasmussen poll from last November found Clinton beating Christie by 2 percent, a sign of how much recent scandals have hurt the New Jersey governor at the national level.
The poll shows Republicans generally back their candidates with Paul keeping 79 percent of GOP-affiliated voters against Clinton while 75 percent of them back Cruz and 74 percent stand with Carson. Only 66 percent of Republican voters back Christie over Clinton while Rubio keeps 68 percent of them and 71 percent of them stick with Perry.
Clinton commands between 82 percent to 90 percent of Democrats against the various Republicans. A vast majority of all voters surveyed -- 81 percent -- think Clinton will be the Democratic nominee in 2016. Still, the poll does show Clintons role in how the Obama administration handled the attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi, in which four Americans including Ambassador Christopher Stevens were killed, could come back and haunt her, with 46 percent saying it will hurt her in 2016 though 38 percent disagree.
The poll of 1,000 likely voters was taken in three surveys from June 14-15, June 16-17 and June 20-21, and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
