Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has double-digit leads over either of Florida's favorite sons, former Gov. Jeb Bush or U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, in an early look at the 2016 presidential election, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
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By a 91 - 8 percent margin, consistent with margins found in other states surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, Florida voters support universal background checks for gun purchases. Voters in gun-owning households support universal background checks 88 - 11 percent.
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Mrs. Clinton, who shows the most strength of any potential 2016 aspirant in Quinnipiac University's national polls, leads Jeb Bush 51 - 40 percent and bests Sen. Rubio 52 - 41 percent in a poll of Sunshine State registered voters.
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Clinton is viewed much more favorably than either man, 62 - 33 percent favorable for Clinton, compared to 50 - 35 percent favorable for Bush and 41 - 34 percent for Rubio.
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"We probably won't know for some time whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016, but if she decides to make the race, she begins with a sizable lead in a state that Republicans cannot win the White House without," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Florida voters have a very positive view of Mrs. Clinton and it's not just Democrats who feel that way."
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Mrs. Clinton is viewed favorably by 26 percent of Republicans, not bad for a Democrat who's had her share of battles with the GOP, and gets a 57 - 35 percent favorability among the key voting group, independents. Not surprisingly, she gets 93 - 5 percent favorability among Democrats. She has a 10-point gender gap: 66 percent of women and 56 percent of men view her favorably.
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In a head-to-head with Jeb Bush, Mrs. Clinton would get 10 percent of Republicans while he would only get 4 percent of Democrats. Independent voters are divided 42 percent for Clinton and 41 percent for Bush.
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President Obama remains slightly above water in Florida, with a 50 - 45 percent job approval rating.
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Gun-Control
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| Florida voters support 51 - 44 percent stricter statewide gun-control laws, with gun owners opposed 61 - 33 percent. Attitudes on specific gun measures are: |
- 56 - 41 percent support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons, with gun- owners opposed 57 - 41 percent;
- 53 - 43 percent support a nationwide ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds, with gun-owners opposed 56 - 40 percent;
- 59 - 36 percent support placing armed police officers in schools;
- 57 - 33 percent that gun ownership in Florida does more to protect people from crime than to put them at risk;
- 60 - 31 percent say allowing people to own assault weapons makes the country more dangerous rather than safer, with gun owners divided 44 - 44 percent.
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President Barack Obama better reflects their views on guns, 44 percent of Florida voters say, while 45 percent say the National Rifle Association better reflects their views.
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"Floridians' views on guns are pretty much in line with results seen in other states surveyed by Quinnipiac University," Brown said. "Women are more likely to support restricting guns than men; blacks more than whites and Democrats more than Republicans. The idea of requiring background checks on those who want to buy guns has overwhelming support, 91 - 8 percent, in a country where getting a majority to agree on anything is often difficult."
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From March 13 - 18, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.
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The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research.
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For more information or RSS feed, visit quinnipiac.edu, or call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.
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10. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Jeb Bush the Republican, for whom would you vote?
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