John Kasich is trailing his two Republican rivals in the delegate horse-race, but a new poll suggests he may be the only GOP presidential candidate capable of beating Hillary Clinton in the general election.
The latest Monmouth University survey of U.S. voters shows Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, leading Donald Trump by 10 percentage points and beating Ted Cruz 45 to 40 percent. A Fox News poll released Wednesday found Cruz leading Clinton by three percentage points.
A hypothetical matchup between Clinton and Kasich, however, shows the Ohio governor with a 6-point advantage.
In swing states, Kasich leads the former secretary of state 46 to 41 percent. He also leads Clinton in states that lean Republican (47 to 36 percent) and in red states where voters predominantly support GOP candidates (59 to 26 percent). Trump and Cruz both lose to Clinton in swing states and leaning states, but beat her in solid red states.
Kasich is also the only GOP hopeful with a net-positive favorability rating on both sides of the aisle, but 32 percent of voters still have no opinion of him.
Monmouth University polling director Patrick Murray said the two-term governor “seems to be best positioned to take on Clinton, but the fact that he is a blank slate for one-third of voters means that opinion could swing either way if he became the nominee.”
Meanwhile, Cruz, Clinton and Trump appear to be wildly unpopular among Americans. Each candidate has a net-negative favorability rating among voters in the same poll — Cruz (43 to 37 percent), Clinton (51 to 40 percent) and Trump (60 to 30 percent).
“This dynamic will certainly change, but it is telling that both parties’ leading candidates come out of the box with voters holding largely negative views of them,” Murray said in a statement.
Despite her overall negative favorability rating, Clinton is still seen as more presidential than Trump. Fifty-four percent of voters think the former first lady’s temperament is suitable for the Oval Office, while only 27 percent say the same of Trump.
The survey of 848 registered U.S. voters was conducted March 17-20. Results contain a margin of error plus or minus 3.4 percent.
