December 30th, 2012, 09:00 AM ET
Washington (CNN) - Hillary Clinton hasn't even stepped down yet as secretary of state and there's already constant speculation as to whether she'll run again for the White House. While no decision from her on any future bid for president is expected in 2013, expect speculation about her future political plans to intensify throughout the New Year.
But if she eventually changes her mind and decides to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, a new national survey indicates that the vast majority of Democrats would consider backing her as their party's nominee.
According to a CNN/ORC International poll released Sunday morning, 85% of Democrats and independents who lean towards the Democratic Party say they'd be very or somewhat likely to support Clinton if she runs for the Democratic nomination. There's a slight gender divide, with 93% of Democratic women saying they'd be very or somewhat likely to support Clinton. That figure drops to 79% among Democratic men.
(snip)
Romney's running mate tops the current GOP list of 2016 hopefuls. Three-quarters of Republicans or independents who lean Republican say that they'd be very or somewhat likely to support Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan if he runs. At a recent conservative awards dinner Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, joked about running for the White House, saying "know any good diners in New Hampshire or Iowa? I'm sure the press won't read too much into that one."
Fifty-nine percent of Republicans say they'd back Chris Christie.
(More at CNN link):
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/30/cnn-poll-clinton-tops-list-of-2016-hopefuls/i'm going to wait for rass and gallup because according to getbig they are much more accurate
