Bush, Rubio emerging as GOP frontrunners

Bush, Rubio emerging as GOP frontrunners
By Ben Kamisar - 06-22-15 08:22 AM EDT

Three quarters of Republican voters view former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio as the most palatable of the GOP presidential candidates, as the two Florida politicians settle toward the top of the crowded presidential field.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News pollreleased Monday shows a full three-quarters of GOP primary voters are open to supporting Bush, with 74 percent open to Rubio. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) follows at 65 percent and Gov. Scott Walker (Wis.) is next at 57 percent.

Both Bush and Rubio have won over significant swaths of the population over the past three months. Bush's numbers have grown by 26 percentage points, while Rubio's jumped 17 points since a poll from the same organizations in March.

The poll shows that the majority of Republican voters are willing to consider three other candidates: former Gov. Rick Perry (Texas), Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), and Ben Carson. Forty nine percent of voters saying they could see themselves voting for Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) or former Sen. Rick Santorum (Penn.).

But voters also share a significant reluctance over other GOP candidates. Real estate magnate Donald Trump garnered the strongest negative reactions, with about two-thirds of voters saying they could not see themselves supporting his candidacy. That's followed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, with 55 percent responding that they wouldn't support him.

Carly Fiorina, the only female candidate on the Republican side, has just three in ten GOP voters open to supporting her. That's the lowest total support of any candidate tested. But that's a 72 percent increase since the March poll, the largest percentage increase of any candidate.

The Journal and NBC News polled 1,000 adults with a margin of error of 6.4 percent.