Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has the highest support among those most likely to vote Republican in the 2016 presidential election, according to a new
Washington Post/ABC News Poll.
But Romney and his wife, Ann,
have repeatedly said the 2012 nominee will not make another run for the White House, so the poll also asked voters whom they preferred if Romney were not in the race.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took that spot, but, with an expected crowded GOP field, he was favored by only 15 percent of those polled.
Romney himself headed up the poll when he was included with only 21 percent. With Romney in the contest, Bush's support drops to 11 percent.
Those running between five and 10 percent include former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.
Those with under five percent support are Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
All the other candidates' support are unchanged or increased only slightly if Romney chooses not to run.
"Romney enjoys a warm glow today in part because of what’s happened to President Obama since 2012,"
wrote Dan Balz of The Washington Post of the poll's results. "Remembered are attributes or statements that look better in retrospect than they did at the time. Forgotten or dismissed are some of the mistakes Romney made in that campaign, from 'self-deportation' to '47 percent.'"
On the Democratic side, the poll shows support for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at 65 percent, well above Vice President Joe Biden at 13 percent and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 10 percent. Candidates in the low single digits are former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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