The poll was conducted beginning the day Huckabee made his RNC comments. Poll: Huck leads 2016 GOP hopefuls

In the wake of his “Uncle Sugar” comments at the Republican National Committee Winter Meeting, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has taken the lead in a hypothetical 2016 Republican primary, according to a new poll.

Huckabee gained 3 points in the past month to top the GOP field at 16 percent, according to a left-leaning Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday.


Behind him were former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, at 14 percent; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, at 13 percent; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, at 11 percent; and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tied at 8 percent.

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Both Christie and Cruz suffered major falls in support in the past month, each losing 6 points since December.

The poll was conducted beginning on the day Huckabee made waves with his RNC comments, which Democrats seized on as evidence of the so-called “war on women.”

“If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or reproductive system without the help of the government, so be it,” he said.

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Christie’s fall from the lead also comes in the wake of the scandal surrounding his office and lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. Recently released messages show that members of his inner circle may have ordered the closures, which caused major traffic headaches, as political retribution against a mayor that did not support his campaign for reelection. Christie has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the closures.

He has also been accused of withholding Hurricane Sandy funds as political leverage by a local mayor, a charge he denies.

In addition to his fall in the primary, his favorability has plummeted. In a 27 point swing, Christie has gone from a 43 percent to 31 percent favorability last month to a 31 percent to 46 percent unfavorability in Wednesday’s poll.

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On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to dominate the Democratic side, taking in 67 percent support to all other potential candidates’ single digits.

She also leads all her potential Republican challengers in the general election, with a 2 point lead over Christie, Bush and Ryan, a 3 point lead over Huckabee and Paul and a 6 point lead over Cruz.

The PPP surveyed 845 registered voters from Jan. 23 to 26 for its poll, which has an error margin of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. The 457 Republican sample has an error margin of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points and the 334 Democratic sample has an error margin of plus or minus 5.4 percentage points.

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