John Kasich might actually have the best shot of defeating Hillary Clinton in the general election

Kasich shows the best chance of beating Clinton in the general election

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 24 March 2016

Ohio Gov. John Kasich's claim that he's the only Republican presidential candidate who could defeat Hillary Clinton in the general election just might be true. A poll by Monmouth University released Thursday shows that, out of the three remaining GOP contenders, Kasich is the only one who comes out ahead of Clinton in a hypothetical general election matchup.

The Ohio governor snags 45 percent of registered voters nationwide to Clinton's 39 percent, leading with men, voters between the ages of 18 and 54, and white non-Hispanics, while Clinton has an edge with women and those who are not white. Cruz and Trump trail Clinton by five points and 10 points, respectively.

The poll, conducted between March 17-20 among 1,008 adults nationwide, including 848 registered voters, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.