Early Poll: Clinton leads Rand in KY

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would lead Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in Kentucky if she were the Democratic candidate and he were the Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential race, according to a new poll out today from Public Policy Polling.

Clinton would win Kentucky’s eight electoral votes in the hypothetical match-up by a margin of 47 to 42%.

In the same poll, Clinton would also lead Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) by a margin of 48 to 40% in a hypothetical head-to-head race in 2016.

“The fact that Hillary Clinton would be in a position to win Kentucky, perhaps more than any other data we’ve seen over the last month, shows what a formidable candidate she would be for President in 2016,” said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, in a release today.

Among those surveyed, 48% approve of Clinton while 42% disapprove.

More: http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/Hillary-Clinton-leads-Rand-Paul-in-Ky-183208901.html?ref=901

Paul is more unpopular than Clinton in the state, but more popular than Kentucky’s senior senator, Mitch McConnell. Paul’s favorability is 43 to 39%. In contrast, the same polling firm said only 37% of voters approved of McConnell’s performance while 55% disapproved.

The Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling firm surveyed 1,266 registered Kentucky voters from Dec. 7 to Dec. 9. The margin of error for the poll is +/-2.8%.