Hillary Clinton is almost certainly going to run for president. But what if she doesn't, and the Democratic field winds up wide open?
If she chooses not to run, leaving the Democratic nomination for president up for the taking, Democrats would be in actual disarray, according to a new Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday.
Right now, Clinton leads in the potential Democratic field with 58 percent, topping Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (11 percent), Vice President Joe Biden (9 percent) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (4 percent). Democrats clearly expect Clinton will make a run for president, and they would generally support her candidacy if it happens.
Clinton's lead is much larger than it was at this point in 2006 — after which she would eventually lose the nomination to a little-known senator from Illinois. In a June 2006 Gallup Poll, she led with 37 percent among Democrats in a theoretical 2008 matchup, followed by former Vice President Al Gore at 16 percent, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina at 13 percent, and Secretary of State John Kerry at 12 percent.
But if you take Clinton out of the picture for 2016, the rest of the field consists of candidates whom Democrats either don't want or don't know.