Washington: The last two secretaries of state, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Condoleezza Rice, top a new list of potential contenders in the next US presidential election in 2016, according to new survey.
Hillary Clinton and Rice were one and two in a Fox News national survey that simply asked whether this "person would make a good president or not?"
Out of a list of a dozen possible 2016 White House hopefuls, 55 percent of people questioned said that Hillary Clinton, who stepped down earlier this month as secretary of state, would make a good president. Forty-two percent said Hillary would not make a good president.
Even though Hillary Clinton has said time and again that she would not run in the 2016 election, there`s already intense speculation over whether Hillary will make a second bid for president.
In second place in the survey was Rice, who served as national security adviser and then secretary of state under president George W Bush, with 43 percent saying she would make a good president and an equal amount disagreeing.
Following Hillary Clinton and Rice in the polls at 37 percent were New Jersey`s Republican Governor Chris Christie and House member Paul Ryan, last year`s Republican vice presidential nominee, with Vice President Joe Biden at 35 percent.
About a quarter questioned in the survey said former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, the state`s junior senator, would make good presidents. Louisiana`s Indian American governor Bobby Jindal and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were both at 16 percent.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick were at 6 percent, with Maryland Gov Martin O`Malley at 5 percent.
Breaking down the numbers, 83 percent of self-identified Democrats questioned said Hillary Clinton would make a good president, with Biden in second place at 60 percent.
Among self-identified Republicans, 62 percent said Ryan would make a good president, with 54 percent saying the same thing about Rice.
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