Hillary's Popularity Is Still High - GOP Race Still A Muddle

Hillary Clinton has still not announced her candidacy for the presidency, and she is unlikely to do so for at least another year or so -- but she continues to be the candidate to beat. Last week a poll showed she would beat any of the leading Republicans in Ohio (which is a state Republicans must win to retake the White House). And now a new poll shows she remains very popular with the general public nationwide -- with an approval rating 22 points higher than her disapproval rating (59% to 37%).
It is the latest Gallup Poll -- taken between February 6th and 9th of a nationwide sample of 1,023 adults (with a margin of error of about 4 points). The poll shows Clinton is much more popular than Joe Biden, who is generally regarded as the second choice among Democrats. Biden had a 46% favorable rating and a 42% unfavorable rating -- a difference of only 4 points.
Meanwhile, the Republican field still has no clear leader. Public Policy Polling released polls from three new states -- Alaska (January 30th to February 1st, with a 4.7 point MOE), North Carolina (February 6th to 9th, with a 5.6 point MOE), and Louisiana (February 6th to 9th, with a 5.6 point MOE). These are all teabagger-controlled states, and while they showed no clear leader, they do show the far-right-wing candidates do well in those states -- which means it is probably going to be very hard for the GOP to nominate a moderate and viable presidential candidate in 2016.