Email “Scandal” Falls Flat, As Hillary Still Holds Double Digit Lead Over Every Republican

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:21 am

Hillary Clinton

A CNN/ORC poll released on March 18, 2015, finds that Hillary Clinton still enjoys a double digit lead over every hypothetical Republican presidential candidate. The national telephone survey, conducted March 13-15, of 1,009 Americans of voting age, suggests that, despite unfavorable press coverage in the past week, Clinton remains broadly popular with wide segments of the U.S. population.

The poll pits Clinton against seven potential GOP rivals. The seven candidates are Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. In each match-up, she leads by comfortable margins, between 11 and 16 percentage points, over her hypothetical opponent.

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The largest blowout comes versus Ben Carson, where Clinton leads 56-40 percent. The closest match-up is with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, where Clinton has a smaller 54-43 advantage. Clinton holds a 55-40 lead over both Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. Based on current polling, Bush and Walker are the leading Republican candidates for the GOP nomination.

The survey also finds Clinton continuing to hold a lopsided advantage over any potential Democratic challenger. In a field of eight potential Democratic candidates, Clinton secures a solid majority of the vote, polling at 62 percent. Her nearest challenger, Vice President Joe Biden polls 15 percent, with progressive Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren back at 10 percent. No other Democratic candidate polls in double digits.

Clinton’s popularity remains strong, with 53 percent of Americans holding a favorable opinion of her to 44 percent who do not. None of the Republican candidates are viewed favorably by more than 35 percent of Americans, although in the case of Ben Carson, low name recognition is a bigger factor holding him down right now, than people who have formed an opinion, viewing him unfavorably.

Clinton’s popularity is especially strong with women (60 percent view her favorably, to just 38 percent who have an unfavorable opinion towards her) and non-whites (76-20). While one might expect her to perform well with women and minorities, she also demonstrates strengths across a broad range of regional and demographic categories.

Clinton’s strength in the South and Midwest, for example, points to a formidable candidacy, that could perhaps put red states like Missouri and Georgia into play. She enjoys a 60-40 favorable/unfavorable spread in the Midwest, a swing region that is crucial to winning presidential elections. She also has majority support in the South, with a positive 51-46 favorable to unfavorable rating.

While the national press corps and Republican politicians continue to attack Hillary Clinton, her poll numbers remain stubbornly resilient. Whether or not Hillary Clinton is ready to run for President, it appears that the American people are ready for Hillary. The election is still over a year and a half away, but Republicans have good reason to be nervous, because right now, Hillary Clinton is crushing every one of them in the polls.


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