Hillary’s Favorability Ratings Keep Plummeting–Below 50 for First Time since ’08

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

Hillary Clinton’s favorability rating has plummeted below 50% for the first time since 2008, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll.

The poll, consistent with others that have seen her favorability ratings decline in the wake of her private email scandal, found that Clinton has a 49% percent favorable rating compared to a 46% unfavorable rating. As the Post notes, “it’s the first time her favorable rating has dropped below 50 percent since April 2008, when she conceded the Democratic nomination for president to Barack Obama.” Further, “her favorability rating has dropped nine points in the past year and 18 points since she left the State Department in 2013.”

Republicans aren’t the only ones souring on Clinton. The Post notes that “there is also evidence of less-partisan voters straying from Clinton. Among Democratic-leaning independents, 84 percent approved of Clinton last year. Now, that number is 65 percent.”

Clinton, though, still leads all of her potential GOP competitors by double digits and has an overwhelming lead among all Democrats who may potentially challenge her in 2016. Among Democrats, Hillary wipes away the field with 66%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Joe Biden are both at 11%. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley round out the field with 4%, 2%, and 1%, respectively.

Though Clinton may still do well, based on name recognition, in national polls, she is losing support in swing states like Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania as more details come to light about her email scandal. A Quinnipiac poll released this week found that Clinton, for instance, trails Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in Pennsylvania while voters in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania are viewing her as someone who is less “honest and trustworthy.”

When the Post/ABC News poll asked if Clinton “understands the problems of people like you,” 48% said she did not while 47% said she did. When asked if Clinton is “honest and trustworthy,” respondents were split–with 46% believing she is and 46% saying she is not. When asked if Clinton “shares your values,” 48% believed she does while 47% think she did not.

The poll was conducted March 26 to 29 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points for the national sample and +/- 5.5 points for the “Republicans and GOP-leaning independents” and “Democratic and Democratic-leaning independents” samples.

 

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