Senator Hillary Clinton is the favourite among Democratic voters to be the party's candidate in the 2008 presidential election, according to a poll. But only 12 percent of Democrat electors believe the wife of ex-president Bill Clinton can overcome the hostility of US Republicans to take the White House, according to the Financial Dynamics poll for The Hotline political newsletter.
The New York senator had support from 38 percent of Democrats, a 24 percentage point lead over nearest rival, Senator John Kerry, the losing Democratic candidate in the 2004 election.
"The depth and breadth of Hillary Clinton's support among Democrats is daunting for other potential Democratic candidates in 2008, especially coupled with her enormous fundraising edge," said The Hotline editor Chuck Todd.
But Clinton is divisive figure. Many conservatives dislike her because of her attempts to influence policy while her husband was president.
The poll said that Senator John McCain was the leading Republican candidate among Democrats.
Fifty-five percent of the 603 people questioned had a favourable view of the Vietnam War veteran who fought George W. Bush for the Republican candidacy in 2000, a higher rating than many Democratic party chiefs received.
The poll, carried out April 19-23, had a margin of error of four percentage points.
