McCain Would Beat Clinton, Poll Suggests

WASHINGTON — Democrats have an overwhelmingly favorable view of Senator Clinton, but she would be soundly beaten if she ran for president against Senator McCain, a Republican, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

Underscoring the New York lawmaker's potential vulnerability, the poll also found that Governor Romney, a Republican of Massachusetts little known to most voters, would give Mrs. Clinton a run for her money.

Given a choice between Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton, half of those surveyed said they would vote for the Arizonan, compared with 36% for the former first lady. In a matchup with Mr. Romney, Mrs. Clinton would win by just six percentage points, 42% to 36%.

Those findings lend credence to some Democrats' fear that despite Mrs. Clinton's clear strength within the party, she would prove too polarizing a figure to win the White House.

The poll reinforces the view that Mr. McCain, although mistrusted by some in the GOP and expected to face a spirited fight if he seeks his party's nomination, would be a strong general election candidate because of his appeal to independent voters. Half the independents surveyed said they would back Mr. McCain; 32% supported Mrs. Clinton, with the rest undecided or naming someone else.

Still, the survey spotlighted obstacles to Mr. McCain emerging as the GOP standard-bearer. A significant segment of Republicans who characterize themselves as conservatives — the base of the party — have an unfavorable opinion of him.

In contrast, a former New York mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, received highly favorable marks across the party's ideological spectrum. So far, Mr. Giuliani has not taken as many steps toward a presidential candidacy as Messrs. McCain and Romney, and the poll did not measure how he would perform in a matchup with Mrs. Clinton.

Other poll results highlighted the anti-GOP mood that helped Democrats win control of the next Congress in November's midterm election: Among registered voters, 49% said they would like to see a Democrat win the White House in 2008, while 41% preferred a Republican.

The findings come at a crucial time in the formation of the 2008 presidential candidate field, which is expected to be crowded because neither party has an undisputed heir apparent. Already, fierce competition is under way for donors and key strategists, and virtually all of the likely candidates are building organizations in the states pivotal to the nomination process, such as Iowa and New Hampshire.