A U.S. public opinion survey shows Republican Senator Marco Rubio leading the group of hopefuls for the party's 2016 presidential nomination.
A poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University has the first-term lawmaker from the southeastern state of Florida attracting 15 percent of registered Republican primary voters, followed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush with 13 percent and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker with 11 percent. Neither Bush nor Walker have formally entered the race for the White House.
The poll also shows Rubio doing better against likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in a potential general election matchup than the other Republican presidential hopefuls. But Rubio trails the former secretary of state by two percentage points, 45 to 43 percent.
Clinton has a commanding lead among all potential Democratic candidates, including Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley.
But the survey also shows that only 54 percent of those asked believe Clinton is honest and trustworthy, compared to 38 percent of those who believe the opposite.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Carly Fiorina, a former chief executive officer of technology giant Hewlett Packard, will formally launch her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on May 4.
