Washington: Hillary Clinton is the firm favourite to be chosen as the Democratic Party nominee for 2016 US presidential polls and go on to be elected as the first woman president of America, according to a new poll.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll taken in the days after Clinton held her first public rally earlier this month, showed the former secretary of state garnering broad support for being chosen the Democratic presidential nominee.
Three-quarters of Democratic primary voters said Clinton was their top pick to be the nominee, compared with the 15 per cent who selected Bernie Sanders.
Clinton, 67, enters the 2016 contest with unusually broad support from fellow Democrats with some 92 per cent of Democratic primary voters saying they could see themselves supporting her and just 8 per cent saying they could not, according to the poll.
But it is not that Clinton just emerges as the strongest contender in the primary vote but the poll shows that she is looking set for a successful November 2016 election bid to become the first woman president of America.
The poll asked 1,000 likely voters about their opinions on potential presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat.
It showed Clinton polling at 48 per cent to 40 per cent against her closest Republican contender, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, the brother of former president George W Bush and son of former president George HW Bush.
Against the Florida senator Marco Rubio, Clinton polled 50 per cent against 40 per cent. And against Wisconsin governor Scott Walker she polled 51 per cent to 37 per cent.
The survey found that Americans are divided on whether they want the next president to be a Republican or a Democrat. But among many key demographic groups, Clinton outpaces the support for her party.
"The poll underscores Clinton's strength as a candidate, both among Democrats and key constituencies that could tip the balance in a general election. But the results also show a clear desire among Democratic voters for a rival to emerge and hint at potential cracks in her support," the Wall Street Journal said.
Among Republican primary voters, the poll showed Bush ahead with 22 per cent of the vote. Walker was next with 17 per cent and Rubio third with 14 per cent. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson had 11 per cent, while former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee 9 per cent, libertarian senator Rand Paul 7 per cent, former Texas governor Rick Perry 5 per cent, New Jersey governor Chris Christie 4 per cent and Texas senator Ted Cruz 4 per cent were all in single figures.
