A poll published Wednesday by Quinnipiac finds that in a theoretical 2016 match-up between Governor Chris Christie and former Secretary Hillary Clinton, Christie would have a slight edge.
The poll of American voters showed Christie garnering 43 percent while Clinton received 42 percent. Christie was the only Republican who beat Clinton in potential head to head race. Other possible Republican nominees trailed Clinton by between 9 and 15 points:
- 49 – 40 percent over U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky;
- 51 – 36 percent over U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas;
- 49 – 40 percent over U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Christie race to the White House is neck-and-neck before the campaign even saddles up,” says Quinnipiac’s assistant polling director Tim Malloy.
The demographic breakdown in the Christie-Clinton match-up showed Republicans and Democrats going about equally for their own party. Christie won men 47-35 while Clinton won among women 48-39. Clinton took the majority of the black vote 77-12 and a plurality of the Hispanic vote 46-38. The white vote went for Christie 50-35.
Both Clinton and Christie were judged to be good potential presidents by voters. Hillary scored 54-40 on the question while Christie received 49-31 on the same question. A majority of voters did not think that VP Biden, Sen. Paul, Sen. Cruz or Rep. Ryan would make good presidents.
The Quinnipiac poll also looked at which party voters are inclined to vote for in 2014. Here the poll found a major shift. On October 1st Quinnipiac found a 43-34 advantage for Democrats on the question. The new poll shows voters are now evenly split, 39-39.
The poll also looked at approval a few specific members of Congress. It found the leaders of both parties were unpopular with voters:
- 58 – 26 percent disapproval for House Speaker John Boehner;
- 55 – 31 percent disapproval for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi;
- 52 – 27 percent disapproval for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid;
- 46 – 27 percent disapproval for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.