A new national poll indicates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would be an early frontrunner if he decides to jump into the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

The CNN/ORC International survey, released Friday, indicates Christie, who won re-election in a landslide victory, leads the pack of potential contenders for the GOP nomination.

The poll also found that Democrats would favor Vice President Joe Biden, if Hillary Clinton decides against making another bid for the White House.

Twenty-four percent of Republicans and independents questioned in the survey polled said they'd support Christie, up seven percentage points from a CNN poll in September.

At that time, Christie and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the House Budget chairman and the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, were virtually tied, with Christie at 17 percent and Ryan at 16 percent.

But Ryan has dropped to 11 percent, behind Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, at 13 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas garnered 10 percent in the survey, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida at 9 percent, Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 7 percent, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, each at 6 percent.

"Among Republicans making more than $50,000, Christie wins 32 percent support, 20 points higher than Cruz, Ryan, or Marco Rubio, all of whom get 12 percent among higher-income GOPers, and 23 points higher than Paul," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But among Republicans who make less than $50,000 a year, Christie's support drops 19 points, only good enough for second place behind Paul."

The CNN poll indicates that Clinton would be the overwhelming frontrunner in the race for the Democratic nomination, with 63 percent of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party saying she would be their choice. Biden was a distant second at 12 percent, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (7 percent), New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (5 percent), and two-term Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (2 percent).

But if Clinton forgoes another run for the White House, the poll found 43 percent of Democrats would support the vice president.

The poll was conducted November 18-20 for CNN by ORC International, with 843 adult Americans, including 418 Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP, and 374 Democrats and independents who lean Democratic, questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, with a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points for questions just of Democrats or Republicans.


Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/chris-c...1#ixzz2m97m32W1