Poll: Hillary's Numbers Down vs. GOP Challengers

It seems the more people see of Hillary Clinton the less they like her.

A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds Clinton has slipped below 50 percent support in hypothetical match-ups with Republican challengers. Asked who they would vote for if the 2016 election were held today, respondents gave Clinton 48 percent support versus all three top GOP contenders: Gov. Chris Christie (41%), Gov. Jeb Bush (41%) and Sen. Rand Paul (42%).

This gap is much smaller than it was in similar polls taken earlier this year. In February a match-up against Gov. Christie gave her a 53-37 advantage for a lead of 16 points. But a gaffe-filled book tour in which Clinton complained about being “dead broke” after leaving the White House and in which she became agitated when questioned about her stance on gay marriage has resulted in her lead over Christie dropping to just 7 points.

When respondents were asked which GOP contender they would support if the primary were held today both Jeb Bush and Chris Christie got 13 percent support. They were followed closely by Ted Cruz at 10 percent and Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio at 9 percent.

Among the subset of voters who consider themselves Tea Party supporters, Sen. Ted Cruz leads all challengers at 15 percent. Among those who do not consider themselves Tea Party supporters, Gov. Chris Christie leads the pack at 17 percent.