Republicans Say They Want an Experienced Governor in 2016, but Actually They Want Marco Rubio

YouGov reports that, when picking a presidential candidate, Republicans are far more interested in experience than are Democrats:

The desire for experience is much stronger among Republicans that it is among Democrats.  By more than two to one, Republicans say they would prefer a candidate with experience to one with new ideas. Democrats are evenly divided. 

This helps Jeb Bush, right?

Nope. Not on your life:

But when voters compare individual candidates those preferences seem to matter less.  In a head to head contest between former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and current Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Republicans don’t choose the more experienced (and older) Bush.  Twice as many say that they would pick Rubio over Bush.  Even those Republicans who prefer experience over new ideas pick Rubio – and by about the same margin.

Indeed, although he has the strongest showing, it’s not only Marco Rubio who comes out ahead of Bush:

Republicans seems to favor those candidates with fewer years on the national political scene, and not those with arguably the most political experience.  Rubio and another first term U.S. Senator, Tennessean Rand Paul, both beat Bush in head to head matchups.  However, Paul leads Bush by less: 48% of Republicans in the poll support Paul, 30% favor Bush. 

Moreover, while twice as many Republicans say that they want a governor as say they want a legislator, they do not seem to be too hung up on the idea in practice: