Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be the clear winner in Iowa if the 2016 presidential election were held today, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has narrowed her lead by five points since March, a new poll has found.
According to a
Quinnipiac University poll conducted June 12-16 of 1,277 registered voters, Clinton has 44 percent support in a match-up with Christie, compared to his 36 percent. A March poll showed Clinton with 48 percent support over Christie's 35 percent.
"Things are getting a bit better in Iowa for New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie," Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll, said in a statement. "But the Republican contender, who was ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Iowa before 'bridge-gate' took him down several pegs, still has a ways to go."
Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul and 2012 vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan are both within six points of Clinton. Arkansas GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa GOP caucuses in the 2008 presidential race, is trailing Clinton by seven points.
The poll also assessed how Iowa voters feel about the prisoner swap that freed five senior Taliban leaders in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Fifty-five percent of voters disapprove of the deal, compared to 34 percent who approve.
Republicans overwhelmingly oppose the deal, at 83 percent, compared to just 14 percent who approve. Sixty percent of Democrats approve of the swap, compared to 26 percent who disapprove.
A massive 74 percent of Iowa voters also say that if Bergdahl is found to have deserted his post, he should be charged with a military crime.
"There is sharp partisan division about the wisdom of the prisoner swap, with Democrats strongly backing the president's decision and Republicans even more opposed. But there is smaller partisan split on the question of whether Sgt. Bergdahl should be prosecuted if it is proven that he deserted his post," Brown said.
The poll's margin of error was 2.7 points.
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