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http://www.nbcnews.com/politic.....frontrunners-n306981
There are two big takeaways from our new NBC/Marist polls of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina that we released yesterday. First, with less than a year before the first nominating contests, the Republican presidential field is wide open -- seven different possible GOP candidates get double-digit support in at least one of the states. Second, only two potential candidates (former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker) are in double digits in ALL three states. So call Bush and Walker your very early 2016 Republican frontrunners. Here is the breakdown among potential GOP caucus-goers and primary voters:
•Iowa: Mike Huckabee 17%, Jeb Bush 16%, Scott Walker 15%, Chris Christie 9%, Rand Paul 7%, Marco Rubio 6%, Ben Carson 6%, Rick Santorum 5%, Rick Perry 4%, Ted Cruz 2%, Lindsey Graham 1%.
•New Hampshire: Bush 18%, Walker 15%, Paul 14%, Christie 13%, Huckabee 7%, Carson 7%, Cruz 6%, Rubio 6%, Perry 1%, Graham 1%, Santorum 1%.
•South Carolina: Graham 17%, Bush 15%, Walker 12%, Huckabee 10% and Carson 10%, Paul 7%, Christie 6%, Rubio 4%, Perry 4%, Santorum 3%, Cruz 1%.

Bush and Walker have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. And if you were to award a point system for poll position in each state (5 points for 1st place, 4 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd, 4 points for 4th, 1 point for 5th), your top four would be Bush, Walker, Huckabee, and Paul (tied with Graham). That sounds about right.

Hillary (not surprisingly) is crushing the Democratic opposition: On the Democratic side, meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has a substantial lead over her potential Dem rivals in all three states:

•Iowa: Hillary Clinton 68%, Joe Biden 12%, Bernie Sanders 7%, Jim Webb 1%
•New Hampshire: Clinton 69%, Sanders 13%, Biden 8%, Webb 2%
•South Carolina: Clinton 65%, Biden 20%, Sanders 3%, Webb 2%, Martin O'Malley 2%.

Note: Our polls did not include Elizabeth Warren in these trial heats because she continues to insist -- in both the present and future tenses -- that she won't be running for president in 2016. All of the possible candidates that the polls measured either have formed committees to explore a run, have begun to hire staff, or at least have left open the possibility of a White House bid.

Hillary is ahead in the general, but an important reminder here: In hypothetical general-election match-ups among registered voters, Clinton leads both Bush and Walker in the battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire. In Iowa, Clinton holds an eight-point advantage over Bush, 48%-40%, and an 11-point edge over Walker, 49%-38%. In New Hampshire, Clinton is up by six points over Bush (48%-42%) and seven points over Walker (49% to 42%). But here's an important reminder about this 2016 polling: It's still VERY early. Indeed, Rudy Giuliani was ahead of Clinton by five points (47%-42%) in our national March 2007 NBC/WSJ poll, and the former New York City mayor led Obama by six points (45%-39%). Also, while Clinton is ahead in Iowa and New Hampshire, President Barack Obama isn't much of an asset for her in these two states, with his job-approval rating at 43% in both.

Looking at the issues: What's acceptable and what isn't: In addition, our NBC/Marist polls tested seven key issues -- 1) supporting Common Core, 2) supporting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, 3) wanting to repeal the federal health-care law, 4) believing that climate change is man-made, 5) opposing gay marriage, 6) favoring raising taxes on the wealthy and 7) wanting to send more U.S. troops to combat ISIS -- to see which were the most acceptable and unacceptable to voters in these three states. A few of the findings here: In both Iowa and New Hampshire, supporting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is seen as a bigger negative among GOP voters than supporting Common Core. Among ALL registered voters in all three states, the most UNACCEPTABLE issue stance is opposing gay marriage. The most ACCEPTABLE among all registered voters and Democrats: a candidate who wants to raise taxes on the wealthy. The most UNACCEPTABLE among Republicans: believing climate change is man-made (in Iowa and South Carolina) and raising taxes on the wealthy (New Hampshire).