Clinton Leads 2016 Poll In Iowa, Would Defeat Rand Paul And Marco Rubio
Hillary Clinton leads a 2016 poll in the crucial state of Iowa, adding more ammunition to the rumors that the former Secretary of State will seek the White House in three years.
The poll released Friday by Quinnipiac University shows that in Iowa Clinton was ahead of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida 48 percent to 37 percent, and led Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky by a slightly narrower 46 percent to 42 percent.
While Clinton leads the 2016 poll, fellow Democrat Joe Biden didn’t fare so well. He narrowly trailed both of the main GOP rivals, losing to Rubio by 1 point and trailing Paul by 5 percentage points.
“The major difference between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joseph Biden is that she runs much better among independent voters, although Sen. Rand Paul runs better among that key group than either Democrat,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, wrote in the poll’s press release.
Once a swing state, Iowa has been solidly blue for Barack Obama in the last two presidential elections.
Since the 2012 election ended, many political experts believed that Hillary would parlay her experience in the Senate and as Secretary of State into a presidential run. She is seen as having some big advantages, including the experience of serving in two of the nation’s top political positions and access to a formidable fundraising machine through her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
While Hillary may be running in 2016, Bill has made it clear that they won’t be talking about it one way or the other.
“That is the worst expenditure of our time,” Clinton said at the 2013 Fiscal Summit, where he appeared alongside Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill said Hillary isn’t focused on 2016, but instead putting her energy into the the work she does for the Clinton Foundation, writing a book, and “having a little fun being a private citizen for the first time in 20 years.”
If a Hillary 2016 run were to happen, the former Secretary of State would likely enter the race as the favorite. A previous poll from Quinnipiac University found that Clinton would defeat any Republican challengers, in hypothetical presidential matchups, including rising GOP star Chris Christie.
“Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton would start a 2016 presidential campaign with enormous advantages,” said the polling institute’s assistant director Peter Brown. “She obviously is by far the best known, and her more than 20 years in the public spotlight allows her to create a very favorable impression on the American people.”
Though Clinton leads the 2016 poll, her attempt at the Democratic nomination could be hotly contested. Political experts think that Joe Biden, with eight years of experience in the White House and the Obama “get out the vote” team at his disposal, would be a tough opponent.
