In a turn of fortunes for Chris Christie and Ted Cruz, both of whom lost six points in this poll since December, it appears a new front runner has taken the spotlight for the time being.
Report from Politico:
In the wake of his “Uncle Sugar” comments at the Republican National Committee Winter Meeting, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has taken the lead in a hypothetical 2016 Republican primary, according to a new poll.
Huckabee gained 3 points in the past month to top the GOP field at 16 percent, according to a left-leaning Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday.
Behind him were former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, at 14 percent; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, at 13 percent; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, at 11 percent; and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tied at 8 percent.
Both Christie and Cruz suffered major falls in support in the past month, each losing 6 points since December.
The poll was conducted beginning on the day Huckabee made waves with his RNC comments, which Democrats seized on as evidence of the so-called “war on women.”“If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or reproductive system without the help of the government, so be it,” he said.
Interesting to note the drop in both Christie and Cruz. Christie I’m not surprised about, he’s taken a beating in the media over the purported “bridge gate” scandal and there may yet be more shoes to drop in that story. Ted Cruz is another matter since he regularly was leading polls in recent months. Why he’s been knocked down a few pegs is up for debate. Perhaps the Karl Rove crowd is having an effect at cooling support for the more conservative, outspoken elements of the party.
Still, most important to note, Huckabee leads the field with a measly 16 percent. Far short of anything even resembling a coalition. The major theme is that the identity of the party for 2016 has yet to be claimed.
