Poll: Leading Republicans Would Defeat Hillary Clinton for President 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 8, 2006
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new survey of Americans shows that the top two Republican presidential candidates in the polls would defeat potential candidate Hillary Clinton in head-to-head matchups. However, both of the GOP candidates aren’t fully pro-life, with one opposing abortion and both supporting embryonic stem cell research.
The new poll, sponsored by Marist College, find pro-abortion New York Sen. Hillary Clinton atop the list of possible Democratic contenders with the support of 33 percent of Democrats.
Former Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 vice-presidential candidate, garnered the support of 14 percent of Democrats and former Vice President Al Gore had 13 percent.
Pro-abortion Illinois Sen. Barak Obama, who has come in second place in other polls, enjoyed the backing of 12 percent of Democrats in this one.
Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, told The Journal News that Clinton should still be concerned that Obama could rise up in the polls.
"The support for him has gone from nowhere to where it is right now," he said. "He is not a huge threat right now. But, because of the magnetic personality he has, she would be unwise to discount him."
On the Republican side, pro-abortion former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who opposes abortion, were the top two potential GOP presidential candidates among Republican voters.
The Marist poll also showed that both Giuliani and McCain would beat Hillary Clinton 49-43 in potential presidential matchups.
Part of that is because 41 percent of voters described her as "too liberal," while 44 percent said she was "just right."
Meanwhile, Republicans indicated they may have problems with Giuliani because of his pro-abortion stance.
Some 41 percent of GOP voters said Giuliani’s support of legalized abortion would be a "major factor" in determining how they would vote.
"It is a mirror image of Clinton," Miringoff told the newspaper "because Hillary Clinton is acceptable with her party, but not so much with rank-and-file voters. Giuliani is acceptable with rank-and-file voters, but he may have trouble with his own party."
