Polls: Republican Nomination a Tossup, General Election Tightening

Jun 2, 2015 10:18 AM EDT

A pair of polls out Tuesday are the latest to confirm the Republican nomination is a tossup, but at least one of them shows that several of those candidates may be closing the gap with Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the general election.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll out Tuesday, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker are closing a gap with Clinton.

Of those polled, 47 percent said they would vote for Paul if he faced Clinton in the general election, essentially a tie with Clinton's 48 percent. In the last CNN/ORC poll, from April, Paul trailed Clinton, 58 to 39 percent. Walker and Rubio both trailed Clinton in potential matchups, 49 to 46 percent.

With 17 months to go before the 2016 general election, there is plenty of time for this to change. But the poll results also reflect changes in opinion about Clinton. Her unfavorable rating of 50 percent is the highest in the CNN poll since 2001, and is up from 44 percent in March.

Both the CNN poll and a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday found the GOP primary field to be cramped, with no breakout candidates. In the CNN poll, Rubio led with 14 percent, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush drew 13 percent, and Walker was tied with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 10 percent.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-06-02/polls-republican-nomination-a-tossup-general-election-tightening