Jeb Bush's early entry into the 2016 presidential race is paying off in the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, with the brother of former President George W. Bush topping New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie by 10 percentage points, the news channel reported.

Bush is the favorite among 23 percent of Republicans surveyed in the nationwide poll, CNN said, while Christie has the support of 13 percent. Physician and pundit Ben Carson comes in third, at 7 percent; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are tied for fourth at 6 percent.

The poll was conducted by live interview among 1,011 adults nationwide between Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, 453 of whom identified as Republicans. The overall survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, though the margin of partial samples would be higher.

Bush's lead is limited because many Republicans have lingering doubts about some of Bush's policy positions, the Hill judged. The former Florida governor has called for candidates not to try to conform to the views of the GOP base, saying a candidate should "lose the primary to win the general without violating (his) principles."

On the Democratic side, meanwhile, Hillary Clinton holds a massive lead over Elizabeth Warren, the Hill noted. The former secretary of state beats the up-and-coming Massachusetts senator by by 57 points, 66 percent to 9 percent, the Washington publication detailed based on the CNN poll.

Warren has insisted she will not run for the White House in 2016, but those who have left the door open seem to fare even worse: Vice President Joe Biden comes in at 8 percent and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at 3 percent; Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Martin O'Malley, of New York and Maryland, respectively, tie former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb at 1 percent.

Clinton, meanwhile, is not only up in the presidential poll but also topped Gallup's annual list of most admired women, Politico said. At 12 percent, the former first lady is the only one to reach double digits in that survey, the publication added.