Another presidential preference poll has been done. This one is the CNN/Opinion Research Poll. It was taken between September 6th and 8th of 452 Republicans and 448 Democrats (with a 4.5 point margin of error for both parties).As you can see from the chart above, there is still no real favorite in the Republican race. Chris Christie has a tiny lead, but both Paul Ryan and Rand Paul are within the margin of error -- with Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio not far behind. Since polls this early usually rest on name recognition, the two candidates that should worry are Rick Perry and Rick Santorum. Both of them should be familiar with almost all Republican voters, but they still trail badly.
It's a different story among Democrats, where Hillary Clinton remains the prohibitive favorite (with more support than everyone else put together). With Clinton being such a shoo-in for the nomination (if she decides she wants it), it speaks well of Biden, Warren, and Cuomo that they have any support at all -- and just shows how much respect they each have among Democrats in general.
In a magazine interview last Sunday, Clinton was asked whether she wrestles with whether to run for the presidency or not. She replied:
"I do, but I'm both pragmatic and realistic. I think I have a pretty good idea of the political and governmental challenges that are facing our leaders, and I'll do whatever I can from whatever position I find myself in to advocate for the values and the policies I think are right for the country. I will just continue to weigh what the factors are that would influence me making a decision one way or the other. I'm not in any hurry. I think it's a serious decision, not to be made lightly but it's also not one that has to be made soon."
And when Bill Clinton was asked Fareed Zakaria of CNN about whether Hillary would run, he said:
"I think she would be the first to tell you that there is no such thing as a done deal, ever, by anybody. But I don't know what she's going to do."
Personally, I would be shocked if she didn't run -- and even more shocked if she didn't win (both the nomination and the general election).
