In hypothetical matchups with Republicans, Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders fared better than the party's front-runner Hillary Clinton, a new national poll revealed.

According to the Quinnipiac University survey, the Vermont senator would beat GOP front-runner Donald Trump 49 percent to 41 percent, if the general election were held this week.

Sanders also bested Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (49 percent to 39 percent), retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson (47 percent to 41 percent) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (44 percent to 43 percent) -- the strongest candidates in the crowded Republican field.

Clinton's hypothetical margins of victory were tighter, but the former secretary of state would similarly outdo her GOP rivals, the poll confirmed. She led Trump 47 percent to 41 percent, Cruz 47 percent to 42 percent, Carson 46 percent to 43 percent, and Rubio 45 percent to 44 percent.

But unlike the former first lady, the socialist senator from New England was perceived as exceedingly honest, with 59 percent of those queried in the survey saying they trusted his integrity; only 28 percent of respondents felt that Sanders was dishonest, Quinnipiac University detailed.

The findings were based on telephone interviews the Connecticut school conducted between Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 among 1,453 registered voters across the nation. Of the respondents, 672 were Republicans, while 573 identified as Democrats. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Meanwhile, Sanders was also having success in a less critical poll -- this one to help name Time magazine's "Person of the Year." Hours before the Dec. 4 deadline, the senator had captured 10.4 percent of the vote in the reader survey, according to the publication.

The 74-year-old former Burlington, Vermont mayor, who has been serving in the Senate since 2008, thus topped a number of challengers, including 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai (5.3 percent) and his presidential rivals Trump (2.1 percent) and Clinton (1.4 percent), USA Today noted.