Hillary Clinton continues to dominate polls as the potential Democratic presidential candidate, but it is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker who may surprise the Republican presidential candidate race.

The Des Moines Register and Bloomberg Politics surveyed Iowans on their preferred presidential candidate for both major political parties. Among the potential Republican presidential candidates, Walker led the poll regardless of the inclusion of 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

With Romney as an option, Walker received 15 percent, narrowly ahead of Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Romney placed third with 13 percent, ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Neurologist Dr. Ben Carson rounded up the top five with 9 percent, one percentage point ahead of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Without Romney excluded from the poll, Walker improved his percentage to 16 percent. Paul maintained second place with 15 percent. Huckabee improved from 10 percent to 13 percent while Carson entered double-digit territory to 10 percent. Rounding up the top five is Bush with 9 percent.

"He's in a sweet spot," pollster J. Ann Selzer said about Walker, via the Des Moines Register. "People who don't want an ultra-conservative think he's OK. People who don't want a moderate think he's OK."

For the 2012 Republican presidential election primary, Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania defeated Romney by 34 votes. While Romney would eventually win the Republican primaries, he lost against Obama during the November election.

The only woman to receive recognition in the potential Republican presidential candidates poll was Carly Fiorina, who received 1 percent, regardless of Romney's inclusion in the questionnaire.

On the Democratic Party aisle, former Secretary of State Clinton is the first choice among likely Democratic Iowa caucus-goers with 56 percent. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the first choice with 16 percent of respondents. Vice President Joe Biden ranked third with 9 percent.

If Democratic Iowa caucus-goers had a second choice, Biden significantly improves his odds to 26 percent, narrowly ahead of Warren's 23 percent. Clinton is the second choice with 15 percent of respondents.

President Barack Obama, Biden and Clinton have very favorable views among Democrats. Obama has an 86 percent favorable view among Iowa Democrats while the same group has a 13 percent unfavorable opinion. Clinton was not far behind with an 84 percent favorable view while 15 held an unfavorable opinion. Biden received the highest unfavorable view from the Iowa Democrats with 20 percent while 78 percent had a favorable view of the vice president.

For Warren, she received a lower favorable view than Obama, Biden and Clinton with 11 percent. Although Warren received a 58 percent favorable view, 31 percent were "not sure" about the potential Democratic candidate.

The Iowa poll was conducted between Jan. 26 and Jan. 29, with 401 registered Democratic Iowa voters and 402 registered Republican voters who are "definitely or probably will attend" the state's 2016 caucus.

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