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; 27 percent think he should.
Voters in Florida arent that crazy about either Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio running for president, said Dean Debnam, the president of PPP, on Thursday. A majority of Floridians think they should sit out the races and they both trail Hillary Clinton by small margins head to head.
Despite her leads, Clinton is upside down in the Sunshine State, with 47 percent seeing her as unfavorable, 46 percent as favorable. A slim majority -- 51 percent -- see Bush as favorable, while 35 percent view him as unfavorable.
Poll results show Clinton with a commanding lead in the Democratic primary with 66 percent. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., places a very distant second with 8 percent, followed by Vice President Joe Biden with 7 percent. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., picked up 5 percent, followed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., with 4 percent. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., took 1 percent. Three candidates -- U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Gov. Martin OMalley, D-Md., and former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, D-Mont., took less than 1 percent.
Bush starts out front on the Republican side with 30 percent. Rubio places second with 14 percent, while Paul stands in third with 11 percent. Cruz follows with 9 percent, then Christie with 8 percent. Huckabee and Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., are knotted with 7 percent each. U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., takes 2 percent, followed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., with 1 percent.
If the choice comes down to the two candidates from Florida, 45 percent of Republicans prefer Rubio while 41 percent prefer Bush. While 47 percent of Florida Republicans want Bush to run, 38 percent say he shouldnt. Florida Republicans are more divided on whether Rubio should enter the fray, with 42 percent saying he should run in 2016, 41 percent saying he should not.
The poll of 672 Florida voters was taken June 6-9 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percent. The sample of 251 Florida Democrats was taken June 6-9 and had a margin of error of +/- 6.2 percent. The sample of 315 Florida Republicans was taken June 6-9 and had a margin of error of +/- 5.5 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
