Christie well-known but not well-liked among Republicans, new poll shows

By MORGAN WHITAKER

Republicans know Chris Christie, but they don't like him that much.

That's a key takeaway from a Gallup poll released this week that showed the brash New Jersey governor garners the highest unfavorable numbers compared to other 2016 hopefuls. Christie's one of the better-known Republicans likely to run for president, but a whopping 31 percent of GOP voters report they have an unfavorable opinion of him. Gallup based those findings on interviews with Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, which have a margin of error of four percentage points.

See the gallery below to find out where other candidates from the GOP's 2016 pool rank:

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The two other well-known Republicans among the potential 2016 poll, Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee, enjoy comparable levels of recognition but also have far more positive ratings. The former governors of Florida and Arkansas, respectively, are known by more than two-thirds of GOP voters and favored by more than half of them. Huckabee has the highest net positive, with only 16 percent reporting they feel unfavorably about him compared to 56 percent who have a favorable opinion.

The survey indicates that other likely contenders, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and neurosurgeon-turned-activist Ben Carson, have room to grow. All three are recognized by less than half of the Republican and Republican-leaning independents questioned, but have generally favorable ratings from those who do know them.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who ran in 2012, has some tough numbers to overcome as well, with only a 14 percent net positive rating and less name recognition than Christie.

But if there's one person who is the clear leader in the recent survey, it's Hillary Clinton. Among Democrats she is far and away the most popular candidate.

Check out some of the other Democrats who may run in 2016 (yes, there are a few) below: