A new poll has found that almost a third of Republicans say they would definitely not vote for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie if he makes a bid for the White House in 2016.
According to a Washington Post-ABC News
poll conducted Feb. 27-March 2, 30 percent of Republicans said they would not vote for Christie, and the figure is even higher among all registered voters at 41 percent.
In the survey of 1,002 adults, 50 percent of Republicans say they would consider voting for the embattled GOP governor, and 42 percent of registered voters who say they would.
The 30 percent of Republicans who say they definitely would not vote for Christie is the highest percentage for any of the nine Republicans tested in the survey who are considered serious contenders in 2016.
"The new survey underscores the obstacles Christie will face if he seeks the party's nomination in 2016,"
The Post reported about the results. "The poll does not provide information that could distinguish how much Christie's problems are a result of the [Bridge-gate] controversy and how much they reflect general skepticism toward him among conservatives."
Christie, The Post said, "has been badly damaged politically by the controversy over a four-day traffic snarl in September that appears to have been ordered by his aides and advisers as political retribution."
Meanwhile, the poll found that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is more popular in the Republican Party than Christie, but almost half of all Americans and 50 percent of registered voters say they definitely would not vote for him.
Recent reports indicate that Bush is currently seriously
considering a bid and some in the GOP believe he may be the party's best hope for recapturing the White House.
"The overall findings underscore the degree to which the contest for the GOP nomination in 2016 is as wide open as any in the modern era," The Post said. "The poll found that there is no obvious beneficiary to Christie's problems within the party or Jeb Bush's apparent problems with the wider electorate."
"Many of those thinking about running have made little impression on the general public and in some cases they are not even well known among Republicans."
The results come as conservatives converge on Washington for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Christie, as well as other possible 2016 presidential candidates, will address the three-day event, which will also include discussions about the future of the GOP.
The survey also showed that 25 percent of Americans say they would definitely vote for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, including 47 percent of Democrats.
Another significant finding was that 26 percent of Republicans surveyed in the poll said they would consider voting for the former first lady, and 5 percent of the GOP says it would definitely vote for her.
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