Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has surprisingly only a slight statistical edge over Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in a GOP poll in Iowa, while Hillary Clinton is the clear front-runner among Democrats.
According to the
Loras College survey, Walker received 12.6 percent of the votes and Rubio had 10 percent, just ahead of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in third place with 9.6 percent.
"I think Senator Marco Rubio is the story of our current poll," said Christopher Budzisz, the associate professor of politics and director of the Loras College poll. "Senator Rubio has received a bump from his recent official campaign kick-off.
"The other main stories on the Republican side are the continued jumble of candidates in the crowded field, as well as how Governor Walker's support spans several subgroups within the Republican electorate."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee finished fourth in the survey with 8.6 percent, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 6.5 percent, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul with 6.3 percent.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson had 6.3 percent of the vote among the 1,000 likely GOP caucus participants surveyed in Iowa, while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had 5.1 percent.
The other possible candidates in the presidential nomination poll, including former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, tycoon Donald Trump, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, had less than 12.5 percent of the vote among them.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham may be disappointed to learn that he received zero percentage in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points.
As for possible Democratic nominees for 2016, Clinton has a commanding lead among likely party caucus-goers in the Hawkeye State, according to the poll by the four-year Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa.
Clinton
leads the Democratic field with 57 percent, while Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren came next with 14.7 percent, according to a poll of 491 likely caucus-goers.
"Now that Clinton has officially kicked off her campaign, we will see if she is able to cement her status and capture Iowa," said Budzisz. "The Hawkeye State has not always been kind, and I imagine the 2008 campaign still lingers in the mind of some.
"However, as of now there does not appear to be as strong a field of challengers to the presumptive front-runner as there was in 2008."
According to the ABC TV station KCRG,
rounding out the Democratic field are Vice President Joe Biden with 5.9 percent, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley with 2.4 percent, Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders with 2 percent, and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb with 1.2 percent.
Clinton's lead in the Loras College study is slightly less than in a Public Policy Polling survey released earlier this week, which found she had 62 percent of the likely votes compared to 14 percent for Sanders, KCRG reported.