Clinton easily beats any rivals in poll
WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton is not only the best-known but also the most favorably viewed of the potential presidential candidates from either of the two major parties, according to a new Gallup poll.
The poll was conducted Monday through Wednesday, mostly after the news broke about Clinton’s use of a private email account while she was secretary of State, but before the news conference last week in which she addressed the issue.
Roughly 9 in 10 Americans said they knew enough about Clinton to have an opinion, and the poll released Thursday found that 50% viewed her favorably, while 39% had a negative impression. On both counts, that put her in better position than any of the potential Republican candidates at this early stage of the presidential race.
But Clinton’s favorability has declined since she left the State Department, as Americans have begun to see her again as a presidential candidate rather than in the less political role as the nation’s top diplomat. When she left the agency, about two-thirds of Americans polled had a favorable view of her, a number that has dropped steadily as partisanship has taken its toll.
Last June, when Clinton released her book “Hard Choices,” 54% of Americans in a Gallup survey had a favorable view. Comparing that number with the latest figure indicates that the email controversy had not had a significant impact on the public’s perception of Clinton when the new poll was taken.
Among the Republican hopefuls, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were the best-known, with about two-thirds of respondents holding opinions on them.
But in Bush’s case, that opinion was closely divided — 35% favorable and 33% unfavorable. Christie stood in a worse position, with negative perceptions outweighing the positive, 34% to 31%.
Among the potential contenders for the Republican nomination, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida had the highest net favorability, with 26% holding a positive view and 21% a negative one, the poll found. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also had a net favorable rating, but was somewhat less known, with 20% favorable and 18% unfavorable.
The least popular Republican candidates overall were former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and the two Texans considering running — former Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Ted Cruz. For Santorum, negative views outnumbered positives, 27% to 20%; for Perry it was 32% to 25%, and for Cruz, 28% to 22%.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who some have hoped will challenge Clinton, had a net positive rating, but was far less known than Clinton. The poll showed 22% viewing her favorably and 19% unfavorably. Warren has repeatedly said she is not running and has taken no steps toward starting a campaign.
The Gallup survey questioned 1,522 U.S. adults by land lines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.