Ahead of a major gathering of Republican presidential hopefuls in New Hampshire later this week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has put some distance between himself and the rest of the field, leading by 10 points against his nearest competitor in a new poll on the Granite State.
Mr. Walker is the top presidential choice for 24 percent of GOP primary voters, according to the poll out Wednesday from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.
Next was Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 14 percent, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky at 12 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were both at 8 percent.
Mr. Cruz, Mr. Paul, and Mr. Rubio are the only major GOP candidates to have officially announced they are running for president in 2016.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson were at 7 percent apiece and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry was at 4 percent.
Mr. Walker was viewed most favorably by GOP primary voters; 57 percent had a favorable opinion of him, compared to 13 percent who had an unfavorable opinion. He also led among a swath of the potential primary electorate, winning over GOP voters who identified themselves as “moderate,” “somewhat conservative” and “very conservative.”
Potential presidential hopefuls will have a chance to make their respective pitches at the state Republican party’s “#FITN (first-in-the-nation) Republican Leadership Summit” on Friday and Saturday.
The survey of 358 GOP primary voters was taken from April 9-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.2 percent.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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