WASHINGTON — Will it always be Clinton versus the Bushes?

In a new poll of the most admired first lady in the last 25 years, Barbara Bush, wife of President George H.W. Bush, and Hillary Clinton, married to President Bill Clinton, are tied.

That’s not entirely surprising, considering a Bush or a Clinton has been in office for nearly 20 out of those 25 years.

Current first lady Michelle Obama came in a close third, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found.

Bush and Clinton each received 27% of the votes; 24% went to Obama and 17% to Laura Bush, wife of President George W. Bush. Still overshadowed by the mother-in-law, it seems.

When split off by party, Democrats actually preferred Obama with 42% over Clinton, with 39%. Also interestingly, Republicans preferred Laura Bush with 52% over Barbara, with 40%.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll was conducted April 23-27 with 1,000 people participating via telephone. The poll has an overall sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on the WTOP Facebook page.