The overall electorate has apparently taken a liking to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as a new poll showed would him defeating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton if the general election was held today.

Rubio held an 8-point edge over the former secretary of state, beating Clinton with 50 percent to 42 percent, Fox News reported in its latest poll based on the responses between Nov. 16 and Nov. 19.

The Cuban-American senator was not the only GOP presidential hopeful who fared well in a hypothetical matchup. His onetime mentor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, similarly bested Clinton with 45 percent to 39 percent, respectively.

The same held true for former neurosurgeon Ben Carson (47 percent to 42 percent), real estate tycoon Donald Trump (46 percent to 41 percent), Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (45 percent to 41 percent) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (46 percent to 43 percent), the news channel detailed.

The survey, which was based on landline and cellphone interviews with 1,016 randomly chosen registered voters across the nation, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Conservative MSNBC pundit Joe Scarborough, meanwhile, attributed Clinton's relatively poor performance to what he views as President Barack Obama's insufficient handling of the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 individuals and wounded hundreds more, Real Clear Politics noted.

"Democrats may not be panicking, but they are very nervous that they have a president who is disconnected from the heartbeat of America as where this president is," Scarborough said. "Now post-Paris, Hillary is losing to Marco, to Jeb, to Trump, Carson, Cruz, Christie, and she is tied with Fiorina. That is the Obama effect post-Paris."

Among Republicans, meanwhile, the ability to beat Clinton in the general election is seen as more important than the eventual nominee's commitment to shrink government, Fox News noted. Seventy-seven percent of GOP supporters said besting the former first lady was "very important," while 71 percent said the same about reigning in the size of the federal government.