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Romney tops Republican field in new poll, edging out Clinton

A Quinnipiac University pollster said that with Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie at the top of the Republican field the party appears to be seeking more moderate candidates.

By Frances Burns
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney spoke at the University of Miami in Coral Gables on Oct. 31, 2012, six days before he lost the election to President Obama. A new poll puts Romney at the top of the Republican field in 2016 with a light edge over Democrat Hillary Clinton. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney spoke at the University of Miami in Coral Gables on Oct. 31, 2012, six days before he lost the election to President Obama. A new poll puts Romney at the top of the Republican field in 2016 with a light edge over Democrat Hillary Clinton. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo

HAMDEN, Conn., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney has a sizable lead over Republican rivals in a poll released Wednesday and a small one over Hillary Clinton.

Nineteen percent of Republican respondents to the Quinnipiac University poll said the former Massachusetts governor was their choice for candidate. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was in second place with 11 percent.

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No other candidate broke 10 percent. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Dr. Ben Carson were tied at 8 percent.

If Romney is not in the mix, Bush gets 14 percent, Christie 11 percent, Carson 9 percent and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky 8 percent.

On the Democratic side, Clinton is still the overwhelming favorite. More than half, 57 percent, said they would vote for her, 13 percent for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and 9 percent for Vice President Joe Biden.

Clinton is in a statistical tie with Romney, with 45 percent selecting him and 44 percent the former secretary of state. Against Christie, she leads 43-42, with bigger leads of 5 percent or more against other Republican possibilities.

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Tim Malloy, the poll's assistant director, cautioned that Romney still has great name recognition because of his 2012 run.

"Remember Mitt? Republicans still have Gov. Mitt Romney top of mind and top of the heap in the potential race for the top job," Malloy said. "But Jeb Bush looms large in second place," Malloy added. "With New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie also in the mix, it looks like Republican voters are favoring more moderate choices for 2016."

Malloy pointed out that Romney and Christie now look like Clinton's strongest rivals.

Quinnipiac, in Hamden, Conn., conducted the poll of 1,623 registered voters between Nov. 18 and Nov. 23. The margin of error is 2.4 percentage points for the entire sample, 4 points for the 610 Democrats and 3.7 points for the 707 Republicans.

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