Poll shows Democrats lead against GOP hopefuls

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- If either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders win the Democratic presidential nomination, polling shows either would stand a decent chance against Donald Trump.

According to the latest Quinnipiac University National Poll released Tuesday, 47 percent favor Clinton over Trump, who garnered 41 percent. In early November, 46 percent chose Clinton while 43 percent chose Trump. Sanders fares better among voters surveyed, 49 percent of whom would choose him, while 41 percent would vote for Trump.

"Secretary Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders have to be hoping Trump is the GOP's guy," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Both Democratic candidates also fare well against the other GOP hopefuls. Clinton garnered 45 percent to Sen. Marco Rubio's 44 percent. Sanders also nabbed a one point lead over Rubio, with 44 percent to Rubio's 43 percent.

Sen. Ted Cruz would be narrowly beaten by Clinton, and by Sanders by a larger margin. Clinton won over 47 percent of respondents to Cruz's 42. Forty-nine percent of respondents support Sanders over the 39 percent that say they would vote for Cruz.

Amid a six point drop in polling, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson also loses in match-ups with both Democratic candidates. Clinton tops Carson at 46 percent to 43, compared to a month ago when respondents gave Carson a ten point lead over Clinton. Sanders fares even better, with 47 percent to Carson's 41.

Despite Clinton's lead in every match-up, 60 percent of those surveyed said Clinton was not honest and trustworthy. However, 59 percent of voters said the same about Trump.

The poll was conducted by telephone from Nov. 23-30, and surveyed 1,453 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points.