Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is a narrow front-runner among a potentially crowded field for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, according to the latest survey from Public Policy Polling.
None of the possible GOP candidates have built an overwhelming following, but the list of hopefuls is more impressive than the batch that eventually yielded Mitt Romney this year.
Even though he is not viewed as favorably as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Rubio leads with support from 18 percent of GOP primary voters.
Christie, who angered some conservatives with his words of praise for President Barack Obama's handling of Hurricane Sandy, is not far behind at 14 percent.
Romney running mate Paul Ryan, who failed to give the ticket any discernible boost, enjoys 12 percent support, as does former Florida governor Jeb Bush.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee appeals to evangelicals and is the man for 11 percent of Republican respondents.
Whoever emerges from the GOP pack is likely to face Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she decides to run for the White House.
An overwhelming 61 percent majority of Democrats said they wanted to see Clinton score the party's nomination for president in 2016. Only 12 percent want Vice President Joe Biden to move into the Oval Office.
"Hillary Clinton is the clear choice of Democratic voters while opinions on the Republican side are pretty muddled," said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. "Clearly Marco Rubio's debut on the national stage at the GOP convention was a big hit though."
Rubio's speech in Tampa was one of the bright spots at an otherwise lackluster convention. A nod to the Florida senator could help Republicans muster support from minorities, particularly the Hispanic vote that abandoned Mitt Romney en masse.
Iowa voters have already had a chance to get a bit more familiar with Rubio. In a sure sign that he has his mind set on 2016, Rubio was in Iowa just a week after Election Day, giving speeches on the importance of the middle class.
The Iowa caucuses are the first major electoral event of the primary season.
The Weekly Standard reports that Rubio and Paul Ryan joked about a potential primary showdown at a event in Washington, DC, earlier this week.
"Know any good diners in Iowa or New Hampshire?" Ryan asked Rubio.
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