Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) leads Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel (R) by 16 percentage points in the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. The Election 2008 poll, part of a series looking at all potential match-ups, shows Obama attracting 50% of the vote to Hagel’s 34%.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) also leads Hagel, but her eight-point advantage is not as commanding as Obama’s. A Clinton-Hagel match shows the Democrat on top 48% to 40%.

In these match-ups, there is little difference between Obama and Clinton’s support among Democrats. However, Obama does much better among unaffiliated voters, holding a 30-point edge over Hagel. Clinton has a 15-point advantage over Hagel among unaffiliateds. Obama also does someone better than Clinton among Republican voters when matched against Hagel.

Hagel is far less known than either Democrat—24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of him and 27% have an unfavorable view. Half (49%) don’t know enough to have an opinion one way or the other. Nine percent (9%) see Hagel as politically conservative, 9% say he’s a liberal, while 26% see him as a moderate. However, once again, the not sure category dominates—56% aren’t sure where the Senator from Nebraska belongs on the ideological scale.

Obama and Clinton are each viewed favorably by 50% of voters. Obama is viewed unfavorably by 34%, Clinton by 48%. A plurality sees each of these Democrats as politically liberal.

See a summary of favorability ratings and other information for all Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates.

Clinton and Obama are the top two choices among Democrats at this point in the nominating process. Hagel is barely registering in the contest for the Republican nomination.

It would be unusual for a Presidential election to feature two U.S. Senators as major party nominees. John F. Kennedy is the only man in recent history to move directly from the Senate to the White House.

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