Phil Ammann
Jeb Bush continues to lead the field as best-known presidential hopeful tested in a new poll of Republican voters released Monday by CBS News.
Behind Bush is former Gov. Mike Huckabee, followed by Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.
Respondents could choose as many names as they wanted.
Showing the biggest movement in the past month is Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who announced his candidacy during the survey. Thirty-seven percent of Republican voters would consider voting for him now, while only 23 percent said so last month. Paul gained 9 points in the past month, with 39 percent saying they would consider voting for him, an increase from 30 percent in February.
Although Scott Walker is less well known, nearly all the Republicans who know the Wisconsin governor would consider voting for him; 8 percent would not — the smallest percentage out of all the names surveyed.
Walker enjoys the largest spread between those who would consider him (35 percent) and those who would not (8 percent).
Support for Chris Christie remains steady, but the New Jersey governor does have the most people — 42 percent — who would not consider voting for him. Also losing traction with voters since February is neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Among the issues polled, the biggest deal breaker with Republican voters is candidate positions on ISIS and abortion, with the fight against ISIS overwhelmingly the key point. Sixty-one percent of Republican voters would vote for a candidate who disagrees with how to deal with the ISIS threat, 51 percent would not vote for based on a differing view on abortion.
Two issues with slightly more flexibility from voters are the budget and immigration: About half of Republicans are open supporting candidates with differing views. As for immigration, 44 percent think illegal immigrants should be required to leave the U.S.; 50 percent believe they should have some legal status.
A majority also want a candidate that is willing to work with Democrats: 77 percent will support someone ready to compromise with Democrats on legislation.
Religious belief is not as strong a motivating factor among most voters: 54 percent of Americans responded that it is not important that the 2016 candidate share their religious beliefs; 45 percent say it is. However, that feeling falls within partisan lines. Sixty-five percent of Republicans say it is very or somewhat important to have a shared religious belief, while 64 percent of Democrats do not.
As for individual candidates, half of Republican evangelicals would consider voting for Bush, a Catholic who converted 20 years ago; 29 percent would not vote for him.
White evangelical Christians are also ready to give Huckabee and Cruz the nod, as well as Paul and Rubio. More evangelicals like Walker for the GOP nomination than not, the survey found, but six in 10 say they do not know enough about him to make a decision.
Pollsters found Common Core and education are two of the hottest button issues with Republicans. Even though more than half of Americans admit that they do not know enough about Common Core to form an opinion, more people say it is a bad idea than a good one.
This trend is particularly true among Republicans: 38 percent believe Common Core is not a good idea; only 10 percent say it is.
As for the Democrats, the favored prospective candidate by far is Clinton.
Clinton’s use of private email servers during her time as secretary of state had little affect on her position as lead for the 2016 Democratic nominee. Eighty-one percent of Democratic voters say they would support her, no change from February.
Coming in a distant second (48 percent) is Vice President Joe Biden, also unchanged from last month. When it comes to Democrats who would not vote for him, 26 percent of respondents will not consider voting for Biden; last month, it was 35 percent.
Of the other potential Democratic candidates in the poll, voters have not yet formed a strong opinion. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren leads with 31 percent support for the nomination while 16 percent would not consider her. Fifty-three percent of Democrats nationwide are unfamiliar with the Massachusetts senator. More than two-thirds of Democrats say they do not enough to form an opinion on Sanders, Martin O’Malley, or Jim Webb.
In the past month, more Americans begin paying attention to the presidential campaign, but fewer are taking note than the same time in the 2008 cycle, the last time an incumbent was not running for re-election. Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they are paying either “a lot” or “some” attention to the 2016 campaign; compared with 72 percent in March of 2007. By this time in the 2008 election, several presidential hopefuls had formally announced entering the race.
Right now, the poll showed, more Republicans (69 percent) are paying attention to the campaign than Democrats (at 55 percent) or independents (at 53 percent).
