Mitt Romney may say he 's not planning to make a third run for the White House , but according to a new CNN/ORC International poll , Republican voters are n't ready to give up on the idea just yet . While there is no clear frontrunner for the Republican ticket in 2016 , most likely GOP voters say they would choose the former Massachusetts governor for the nomination , among 16 potential contenders . According to the survey , 20 percent of voters say Romney would be their first choice for the nominee , with retired neurosurgeon and conservative activist Ben Carson coming in second with 10 percent of the vote . RELATED : Ben Carson : Political phenomenon . Other big name contenders , former Florida Gov . Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov . Chris Christie , round out the top four , garnering 9 percent and 8 percent , respectively . Former Arkansas Gov . Mike Huckabee takes fifth place with 7 percent of the vote . In what could be a telling 2016 indicator , when Romney is removed from the competitive set , the first place spot goes to Bush , who has had some family members publicly pressure him to throw his hat in the ring for months . But even though Bush leads the pack among the hypothetical field of 15 , he only edges Carson in second place by 3 percentage points , and Huckabee in third by just 4 points . On the Democratic side , Hillary Clinton unsurprisingly receives an overwhelming majority of support , with 65 percent of left-leaning Americans saying she would be their choice for the 2016 nomination . Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren , a progressive favorite , and Vice President Joe Biden , fall way behind to take second and third place -- with 9 percent and 10 percent , respectively . RELATED : Hillary Clinton slates return trip to Canada . But when Clinton is removed from the vote selection , Biden pulls more support among voters , who say they would prefer him as their 2016 Democratic nominee with 41 percent , versus 20 percent for Warren . The poll surveyed 1,045 Americans , including 510 Republicans and right-leaning independents and 457 Democrats and left-leaning independents . The survey was conducted by telephone from Nov. 21-23 .
Mitt Romney leads a hypothetical Republican presidential field , according to a new poll . Hillary Clinton tops the Democratic side for the 2016 nomination . The GOP has a sprawling field of up to 16 candidates leading into 2016 .