Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is the current favorite of Republicans for 2016, according to a unique form of online polling conducted in partnership with The Daily Caller that gauges conservative interest for potential GOP presidential candidates.
The survey — operated by the organization Contract From America — asks users to pick favorite candidates in multiple head-to-head match-ups. It’s not scientific, but does indicate which candidates are popular with conservatives.
“By doing so, we elicit the deeper preferences of users well beyond their top choice, which prevents the kind of ‘gaming’ that is often seen in other online polls,” said Ryan Hecker of Contract From America, which runs the poll.
For example, a user may be asked to choose between Scott Walker and Ted Cruz. After that, the user may be asked to choose between Marco Rubio and Rand Paul. That process continues on and on with a variety of potential presidential candidates.
With 935,119 total votes, here are the latest results, as of Wednesday:
1. Scott Walker 80%
2. Ted Cruz 77%
3. Ben Carson 69%
4. Rick Perry 67%
5. Bobby Jindal 62%
6. Marco Rubio 57%
7. Rand Paul 56%
8. Mike Pence 50%
9. Mike Huckabee 47%
10. Mitt Romney 45%
11. Susana Martinez 42%
12. Rick Santorum 41%
13. Rob Portman 35%
14. Donald Trump 31%
15. Jeb Bush 22%
16. Chris Christie 19%
Walker’s lead comes as the Republican governor is getting a good look by voters after a well-received speech to activists in Iowa at the end of last month.
A recent poll released by the Des Moines Register last week shows Walker leading the pack of Republicans in Iowa.
Walker has not officially announced whether he will seek the presidency, but is sending signals that he’s serious about running. (He has said he won’t make a decision about a presidential campaign until after the budget process in Wisconsin, which means an announcement probably won’t come until sometime early this summer.)
But in the meantime, Walker’s inner circle is busy working to put in place the necessary infrastructure in the probable case he pulls the trigger on a run.
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