TheRun2016/cygnal Iowa Republican flashpoll shows the race to the White House is wide open.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) made the list. Marquette University Law School Pollster Charles Franklin says Ryan — who ran as a vice presidential candidate in the presidential election last November — usually does pretty well in such polls focusing on GOP candidates.
Ryan finished third of the nine potential candidates in an early look at the 2016 presidential bid, with 9 percent of the votes. Walker (R-Wisconsin) finished eighth with 2.1 percent. “But,” Franklin says, “Governor Walker is not as well known in other states than he is here. And at just 2 percent in the Iowa poll, that’s not doing very well. The fact that he’s listed at all shows that people consider him a potential presidential candidate.”
Most of the potential presidential candidates in the poll garnered less than 10 percent support from those surveyed. Walker might be a household name in Wisconsin, but Franklin says he has to build name recognition elsewhere, including neighboring Iowa.
The most revealing information in the poll, Franklin says, is the number of potential caucus-goers who are uncertain. “I think the big news is, 36 percent undecided, which is just a clear example that people, even in Iowa, are not yet thinking about the 2016 race in a very serious way.”
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) came out on top, receiving 11 percent support; however, no candidate has a clear-cut front-runner status at this point in the GOP poll.
Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Franklin says former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is clearly in the lead. In a head-to-head comparison, a new Quinnipiac poll puts the Republican Scott Walker over Democrat Vice President Joe Biden 42 – 39 percent, but Walker loses a match-up with Clinton, 46 – 39 percent.
Clinton ties Republican New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie 41 – 41 percent.
Franklin has just wrapped up a poll of his own. The new Marquette University Law School poll looks at the job approval of both President Obama and Governor Walker; it also looks at views on the economy in Wisconsin. That survey is due out later today (Tuesday).
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:24