Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida have separated themselves a bit from the rest of the 2016 GOP pack in the battleground state of Virginia, with Mr. Bush the only Republican to top former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in a head-to-head match-up as others inch closer to the Democratic frontrunner.
Mr. Bush sits atop the Republican field at 17 percent with Mr. Rubio at 16 percent, according to the poll released Monday by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.
Next are New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at 10 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 7 percent apiece.
“The Republican field continues to be very fluid,” said Tom Kramer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy. “While there are no break-out candidates yet, we do see a sorting taking place, with Bush and Rubio emerging as top-tier candidates, and Christie, Paul, and Walker forming a solid second-tier.”
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was next at 6 percent.
Mr. Bush also leads Mrs. Clinton by 2 points, 48 percent to 46 percent, in a head-to-head match-up after trailing her by 5 points, 48 percent to 43 percent, in a February poll.
Mrs. Clinton leads several other GOP contenders, but the margins have narrowed considerably since February. She has faced questions over the private email system she used as secretary of state and questions over contributions to the Clinton Foundation as her presidential campaign geared up earlier this month.
“Battleground Virginia will live up to its name in 2016,” Mr. Kramer said. “In the face of a barrage of attacks from her real and potential Republican challengers, Hillary Clinton’s once formidable position has weakened, as we knew it would. Even at this very early stage, the 2016 presidential election in Virginia is shaping up to be a closely fought contest.”
Mrs. Clinton leads Mr. Christie by 2 points, 47 percent to 45 percent, after holding a 7-point lead in February, 49 percent to 42 percent.
She also leads Mr. Paul by 2 points, 49 percent to 47 percent, and Mr. Rubio by 4 points, 49 percent to 45 percent. In February, she had led Mr. Paul by 10 points, 52 percent to 42 percent, and she had a 9-point lead over Mr. Rubio, 51 percent to 42 percent.
She leads Mr. Huckabee by 3 points, 49 percent to 46 percent, after leading him by 10 points, 52 percent to 42 percent, in February.
Mrs. Clinton, who is the choice of 80 percent of Democrats for her party’s nomination in the poll, also leads Mr. Cruz and Mr. Walker by 5 points each, but fails to break 50 percent against either man.
Her favorable rating of 44 percent is better than that of any Republican contender, but her unfavorable rating is also at 52 percent, which is higher than any Republican’s.
The overall survey of 658 registered voters was conducted from April 13-24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percent.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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