GOP Email Scandal Backfires As Popularity Of Potential Hillary Clinton Presidency Grows

A new CNN/ORC poll found that the number of Americans who say that they would be proud to have Hillary Clinton as president has increased in the wake of the media/Republican created email scandal.

The CNN poll found some bad news for Republicans. The number of respondents who agreed with the statement that Hillary Clinton is a president that they could be proud of has increased since the email scandal was first reported. The number of Americans who said that Clinton is someone that they would be proud to have as president has increased from 50% in March 2014 to 57% in March 2015. The number of respondents who agreed that Clinton says what she believes not what voters want to hear has increased from 54% in 2007 to 58% today.

The poll was split (31%/20%/23%/25%) on whether Clinton’s emails were a serious issue. The belief that the Clinton emails are a serious problem was largely driven by Republicans (55%) and conservatives (53%). Sixty-percent of liberals and 70% of Democrats thought that the emails were either “not too serious,” or “no problem at all.” Other demographic groups were split 50/50 on the emails.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

House Republicans are about to launch a full-scale investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails when it is clear that this a story that is not resonating across partisan lines. The popularity of a potential Hillary Clinton presidency has grown since the email scandal broke. The poll offered the first bit of statistical evidence that the email scandal likely won’t make a bit of difference to voters in 2016.

The poll numbers are more impressive for Hillary Clinton when considers that her defense of her emails has been limited to one tweet and a twenty minute press conference. Republicans and the media have been obsessing over the Clinton emails, but no matter how hard they try, they can’t get non-Republicans to pay attention and care.

Hillary Clinton is a more popular potential president than she was before the scandal. In typical Clinton family fashion, a scandal that the media is salivating over might serve to make her stronger.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association