M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Poll: Walker and Bush lead crowded GOP field

Scott Walker and Jeb Bush head a crowded field of prospective Republican presidential candidates in the latest national poll released Thursday.

Walker, the Wisconsin governor, polls at 18 percent, and Bush, the former Florida governor, is at 16 percent.


The poll, conducted by Quinnipiac University, has New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 8 percent each; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 7 percent; Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas at 6 percent each; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 5 percent; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 2 percent; and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 1 percent each.

Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead among Democrats, with 56 percent responding that the former secretary of state is their first choice for the nomination.

The poll was conducted before the recent revelations about Clinton’s use of private email accounts to conduct State Department business.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren comes in second among Democrats with 14 percent, followed by Vice President Joe Biden at 10 percent. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders nabbed 4 percent, and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb received 1 percent. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley polled at zero percent.

Warren has said repeatedly that she is not running for president in 2016.

Republican voters backed Mitt Romney in the previous national Quinnipiac poll of 2016 contenders in November, with 19 percent surveyed saying he was their top choice. Romney announced in January that he would not pursue a third consecutive presidential run.

On the Democratic side in November, 57 percent responded that they would back Clinton as their first choice.

The latest Quinnipiac poll was conducted from Feb. 26 to March 2, surveying 1,286 registered voters nationwide with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. The numbers include 554 Republican voters, carrying a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points, and 493 Democratic voters with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.