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The year 2014 brought a mixed bag for Hillary Clinton's presidential hopes. Her popularity continued to decline, her book tour drew mixed reviews (along with her book), andsome in the liberal wing of the part are urging Elizabeth Warren to challenge her for the Democratic presidential nomination.

But her status as most prohibitive Democratic front-runner in history has not changed. She remains the overwhelming favorite against both Warren and Vice President Joe Biden.

Sixty-three percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they'd vote for her if their state's primary (or caucus) were held today, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Biden garners 14 percent, Warren wins 11 and three other candidates getless than 5 percent each, including Vermont Sen.Bernie Sanders, former Virginia senator Jim Webb and Maryland Gov.Martin O'Malley.

Clinton's 49-point lead is actually her worstperformance of the year in Post-ABC polls, with her support slipping 10 points over the course of four surveys this year (the first of which only listed three candidates).

That lead has led to plenty of talk about whether Clinton is inevitable. As we've noted, Clinton's lead is far larger than her advantage heading into her ultimately losing 2008 candidacy and is bigger than any non-incumbentsince at least the 1980s. Her edge also contrasts sharply with the Republican field, where the same poll found Mitt Romney and Jeb Bushleading but neither cresting 20 percent.

Clinton's lead is not likely to be this big one year from now. Once candidates (including Clinton) actually announce their candidacies and debates are held, Democrats will become more familiar with their options and some will certainly pick other candidates.

But just as the election is many months away, so does Clinton have a very long way to fall before an opponent can make any serious challenge. There remains a huge reservoir of goodwill toward Clinton in the Democratic Party, and that's what has kept her edge in far-away pre-election surveys so gigantic throughout 2014.

Scott Clement is a survey research analyst for The Washington Post. Scott specializes in public opinion about politics, election campaigns and public policy.

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Hillary Clinton *drops* to a 49-point lead for the ...

When a politician drops 10 percentage points in the polls in a year, a reasonable assumption is that it has probably not been a very good year.

Then again, reasonable has not really applied to Hillary Rodham Clintons presumed run for the presidency in 2016.

Since January, Hillary Rodham Clinton has seen the percentage of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents who would vote for her in a primary or caucus drop by 10 points, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Then again, she still has a 47-point lead over her nearest competitor, Vice President Joe Biden, who clocks in at 14 percent in a new poll. Liberal-wing darling Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts comes in third at 13 percent, up 6 percentage points since June.

What does it all amount to? So far, probably nothing more than a gradual and very expected return to earth for the former secretary of State.

At some point, Clinton was going to have to pivot from being the secretary who launched two fawning teledramas to being, well, a politician again and she was never likely to pull that off without some drag on her atmospheric approval.

This year, she began that pivot with a book tour that, while perhaps less than scintillating, at least put her back in front of the public saying presidential sorts of things. Gone was the dutiful-yet-chic Obama administration civil servant with blackberry and sunglasses. Enter the candidate-to-be.

For some in the Democratic Party, Clintons pronouncements might have removed some gloss. She is, after all, more hawkish than President Obama, and as the First Friend of Bill, she is no enemy of the American middle or Wall Street. The result has been a (very) low level liberal insurgency, looking for a potential candidate to challenge Clinton, or at least to drive her further to the left.

Hence the rise of Senator Warren.

But Clinton appears in no danger of being tea partyed by the liberal left. Among the most liberal respondents, Clinton still holds a 63-21 percent lead over Warren, the Post-ABC poll found.

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Hillary Clinton slips in presidential poll: Was 2014 a bad ...

When a politician drops 10 percentage points in the polls in a year, a reasonable assumption is that it has probably not been a very good year.

Then again, reasonable has not really applied to Hillary Rodham Clintons presumed run for the presidency in 2016.

Since January, Hillary Rodham Clinton has seen the percentage of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents who would vote for her in a primary or caucus drop by 10 points, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Then again, she still has a 47-point lead over her nearest competitor, Vice President Joe Biden, who clocks in at 14 percent in a new poll. Liberal-wing darling Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts comes in third at 13 percent, up 6 percentage points since June.

What does it all amount to? So far, probably nothing more than a gradual and very expected return to earth for the former secretary of State.

At some point, Clinton was going to have to pivot from being the secretary who launched two fawning teledramas to being, well, a politician again and she was never likely to pull that off without some drag on her atmospheric approval.

This year, she began that pivot with a book tour that, while perhaps less than scintillating, at least put her back in front of the public saying presidential sorts of things. Gone was the dutiful-yet-chic Obama administration civil servant with blackberry and sunglasses. Enter the candidate-to-be.

For some in the Democratic Party, Clintons pronouncements might have removed some gloss. She is, after all, more hawkish than President Obama, and as the First Friend of Bill, she is no enemy of the American middle or Wall Street. The result has been a (very) low level liberal insurgency, looking for a potential candidate to challenge Clinton, or at least to drive her further to the left.

Hence the rise of Senator Warren.

But Clinton appears in no danger of being tea partyed by the liberal left. Among the most liberal respondents, Clinton still holds a 63-21 percent lead over Warren, the Post-ABC poll found.

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Hillary Clinton slips in presidential poll: Was 2014 a bad year for her? (+video)

TRENTON Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would beat Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey by double digits in a hypothetical 2016 presidential match up, according to a new poll.

Clinton would defeat Christie by 10 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup against Christie, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released today, which mirrors findings of a similar poll released in October.

Only 39 percent of New Jersey voters would support Christie over Clinton, who would garner 49 percent support in Democratic-leaning New Jersey, according to the Rutgers-Eagleton survey. The poll found 56 percent of voters view Clinton favorably, compared to only 44 percent who have positive views about Christie.

It probably makes sense that there is little movement in a hypothetical matchup two years before the actual election, said David Redlawsk, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling and professor of political science at Rutgers University. Still, Christie starts down double-digits in his home state if both he and Clinton are the nominees.

A majority of voters 63 percent expect Christie, whos mulling a 2016 presidential bid, to throw his hat in the ring. A majority 55 percent also think Christie decides whether to sign or veto bills based on his presidential ambitions and 52 percent said Christies out-of-state travel has not hurt his ability to govern. Only 41 percent of voters said Christies travels takes a toll on his job as governor.

The poll comes months after Quinnipiac University Poll released a survey that showed Clinton maintained a similar double-digit lead over Christie in a hypothetical matchup.

The Rutgers-Eagleton Poll was conducted Dec. 3 10 and surveyed 750 adults. The subsample of 646 registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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Hillary Clinton tops Chris Christie by double digits in 2016 presidential matchup, poll finds

Its hard to find people open to supporting both Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush.

Despite claims the two potential White House hopefuls would bring some crossover appeal to the next presidential race in 2016, only 8% of American adults say they would be open to both, according to the results of the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. One in five people surveyed said they couldnt support either.

Thats not terribly surprising for Americas two reigning political dynasties. Both families engender as much anger from opponents as they do enthusiasm from supporters. But it suggests a contest between the two would break along predictably partisan lines.

Neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Bush is a lock to run, but, at this early stage in the posturing, the poll results look much better for the former secretary of state. Half of all American adults said they would be open to supporting Mrs. Clinton, while 48% said they couldnt.

Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor, would start the race with 57% of adults saying they wouldnt be open to voting for him for president. Just 31% said they would. Unlike Mrs. Clinton, who scores well among Democrats, a third of all Republicans said they wouldnt vote for Mr. Bush.

One trend starting to emerge: Mrs. Clinton appeals to many of the same groups as President Barack Obama, with some notable exceptions. Hart Research Associates, the Democratic polling firm that conducts the Journal survey with the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies, compared Mrs. Clintons support among 21 demographic groups with Mr. Obamas support in 2012.

The numbers showed nearly identical, dismal levels of support for both Mrs. Clinton and the president among white men (right around 35%), but Mrs. Clinton far exceeds what the president tallied among white women, with 52% saying they would be open to support her.

Mrs. Clinton would have to make up some ground to match Mr. Obamas numbers among black and Hispanic voters. But the former secretary of state has a big edge among small-town and rural voters. Perhaps most interesting, Mrs. Clinton does much better among Latino women than she does among Latino men.

The poll also found evidence that to win the presidency, Mrs. Clinton would need to distinguish herself from the president. Some 22% of voters said they would be open to supporting Mrs. Clinton but also want to see the next president move in a different direction than the current officeholder.

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Little Crossover Appeal for Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush WSJ/NBC Poll