The Real Clear Politics average of recent polls finds that Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are each ahead of Hillary Clinton in head-to-head polling, while Clinton is ahead of Donald Trump. Clinton leads Trump by a tally of 45 to 43 percent. Meanwhile, Rubio leads Clinton by 46 to 44 percent, and Cruz leads Clinton by 46 to 45 percent.

Limiting the results to polls taken since New Year's Day, the margins are a bit greater. Clinton leads Trump by 4 points—48 to 44 percent. Rubio leads Clinton by the same 4 points—48 to 44 percent. And Cruz leads Clinton by 2 points—48 to 46 percent.

So far out from the election, head-to-head polling should hardly be taken as gospel. Still, these tallies are consistent with the candidates' respective favorability ratings in the recent NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll of registered voters. Rubio's net favorability rating in that poll was +2 points (31 percent approving, 29 percent disapproving), Cruz's was -4 points (31 to 35 percent), Clinton's was -9 points (40 to 49 percent), and Trump's was -29 points (29 to 58 percent), with twice as many registered voters viewing the current Republican frontrunner unfavorably as favorably.

Anderson, author of "An Alternative to Obamacare," is a Hudson Institute senior fellow.