The business-oriented publication Bloomberg News commissioned a survey to see how the 2016 presidential race stands at this early stage. They surveyed a random national sample of 1,001 adults between December 3rd and 5th, and their survey had a margin of error of 3.1 points.
The results of the Bloomberg Politics Poll looked pretty good for Hillary Clinton. Clinton had a +10 approval rating -- significantly better than any of the leading Republicans (Paul +3, Christie +1, Romney -1, Cruz -3, and Bush -5). And when compared to the various Republicans, the voters said Clinton's values were closer to their own.
But the most important result is shown in that bottom chart. When the respondents were asked who they would vote for if the election was held today, Clinton easily beat all of the Republicans (with her margins in the closest contests nearly doubling the margin of error).
Of course, this doesn't insure a Clinton win in 2016. There's still a long time until that election, and nobody knows what will happen between now and then. But it does show that any of the Republicans would have a lot of ground to make up if they expect to beat Hillary Clinton.
