Republican presidential contenders face tough competition, while Hillary Clinton holds an unsurprising lead for the Democrats, even though most voters would like to see her face strong competition, according to a CBS poll released Sunday.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush may lead Republicans with 51 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him, but he’s closely followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 42 percent. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida trail them with 39 percent of voters’ support.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who formally announced his presidential bid Monday, is next with 37 percent. Seven other Republicans follow.
Among the Democrats, the former secretary of state had 81 percent of respondents saying they’ll vote for her, well ahead of Vice President Joe Biden’s 38 percent.
In a much smaller pool, the other four Democratic contenders trail significantly: Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is an independent in the Senate.
Despite having such a strong foothold, 66 percent want to see strong competition against Clinton in the primary.
Additionally, the fiasco regarding her private email server appears to have had no affect on her favorability, as she held 81 percent of voters’ support in February.
