In an early look at the 2016 presidential race, New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie leads former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 45 – 40 percent.
There is a large gender gap as women back Clinton 49 – 39 percent while men back Christie 51 – 30 percent. Independent voters back the Republican 44 – 35 percent.
In another matchup, Clinton gets 45 percent to 44 percent for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. She tops U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas 48 – 41 percent and leads former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush 47 – 40 percent.
Christie would make a good president, Iowa voters say 46 – 30 percent and say the same about Clinton 53 – 42 percent. Paul gets a negative 38 – 42 percent on whether he would make a good president. Cruz, Bush and Vice President Joseph Biden all get bigger negative scores on how they would do in the Oval Office.
“New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie pulls ahead of Secretary Hillary Clinton among Iowa voters. The change from the last time Quinnipiac University polled Iowa, July 22 when they were tied 41 – 41 percent, reflects a general improvement for Republicans, almost certainly related to the controversy over ‘Obamacare,'” Brown said.
From December 10 – 15, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,617 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, Iowa and the nation as a public service and for research.
