Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s slow but steady presidential campaign appears to be paying off, as he is now poised as the GOP’s best challenger to Democrat Hillary Clinton in key swing states, including the first 2016 contest in Iowa, according to a new poll.
The headline on the authoritative Quinnipiac Poll released Wednesday tells the story: “It’s Clinton V. Paul In Colorado, Iowa, Virginia.”
Paul’s emergence comes as two challengers, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and current Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are making news, and reinforces claims from his supporters that he is making inroads in key swing and early primary states.
While some polls focus on the GOP jockeying, the Quinnipiac Poll looks at the likely matchup against Clinton, currently the leader in the Democratic field by a mile. Here’s how those matchups look in Iowa, Virginia and Colorado, three states the poll focused on:
— Colorado: Clinton 43 percent – Paul 41 percent.
— Iowa: Clinton 45 – Paul 37.
— Virginia: Clinton 44 – Paul 42.
The poll finds good news for Bush and Mike Huckabee also, showing that Bush would do slightly better than Paul against Clinton in Virginia and Huckabee a step ahead of Paul in Iowa. But it’s Paul who is most consistent at or near the top of the poll.
In each state, voters said that Bush’s family ties would be more of a negative than Clinton’s. Also, a huge 74 percent said they didn’t care if Clinton would be the first woman president.
“Gov. Jeb Bush has a family problem. Many voters don’t like him coming from a family of presidents,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “If voters are still saying by 4-1 margins this makes them less likely to vote for him when the balloting begins, that will be trouble for him.
“Few voters, however, say they are put off by Mrs. Clinton being the wife of former President Bill Clinton.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
