Christie Leads New 2016 Presidential Poll
Governor Chris Christie is the leading Republican candidate for president according to new CNN/ORC poll.
The poll, taken November 18-20, shows Christie is the favorite candidates of registered Republicans and GOP-leaning independents over Rand Paul by 11 point, 24% - 13%. Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman and running mate to Mitt Romney comes in at third with 11% followed by 10% for Senator Ted Cruz and 9% for Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Florida Governor Jeb Brush and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum round out the results.
On the Democrat side, Hillary Clinton is the runaway favorite with 63% and way ahead of Vice President Joe Biden. If Biden doesn't run then he takes the lead with 43%.
Other Democrats pulling numbers include newly elected Massachusetts representative Elizabeth Warren and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
While the numbers are good news for Christie, CNN Polling Director Keating Holland notes that "polls taken at this point in the election cycle usually measure name recognition rather than predicting support at the ballot box," notes Holland. "Respondents rarely say they would vote for someone they have never heard of, and a lot of the names tested in the poll in both parties belong to politicians who do not have a national reputation."
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