Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) has less of a chance of beating a Democrat for president in 2016 than New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the Courier Journal reports.
More Iowa Republican primary voters consider Christie and Bush electable, according to the survey, conducted by The Des Moines Register, a sister paper of The Courier-Journal.
Although Christie and Bush had the highest unfavorability ratings, that did not hinder their stronger standings in the potential 2016 Republican presidential field.
When asked which one or two candidates had the best chance of defeating the Democratic nominee, 19 percent of Iowa's 2014 primary voters picked Christie, while 16 percent picked Bush. Paul was tied for third at 13 percent with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan each received 10 percent, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio each got 9 percent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz 8 percent, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Scott Walker each captured 6 percent.