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In case you had any doubts over the popularity of Hillary Clinton following her tenure as Secretary of State, well (if Quinnipiac is any indication) it still apparently is sky high in one of the nation’s most crucial swing states.
Quinnipiac polled Floridians on four potential presidential candidates (Clinton, Joe Biden, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush) and came away with the impression that most people have had in the very early goings of the 2016 race. Hillary Clinton is very popular and if you were a betting man you would have her as the overall frontrunner to be the 45th President of the United States but if she, for some reason, doesn’t declare; then its a true toss-up.
Let’s take a quick look at some of Quinnipiac’s approval numbers:
- Barack Obama is seen favorable by 47% of voters with 48% unfavorable
- Hillary Clinton is seen as favorable by 57% of voters with 38% unfavorable
- Joe Biden is seen as favorable by 45% of voters with 42% unfavorable
- Marco Rubio is seen as favorable by 51% of voters with 35% unfavorable
- Jeb Bush is seen as favorable 54% of voters with 33% unfavorable
The most important impression I received from Quinnipiac’s numbers is that while Barack Obama is slightly underwater; it is impressive how Clinton is seen separate from the administration. Secretary of State, for the most part, stays out of the limelight moreso than the President and Vice President but usually they have some type of damage from being associated with the President. It is a true testament to the popularity of the Clinton name.
Also interesting is how both Florida Republicans are still seen pretty favorable. To be fair, Rubio has been mostly uncontroversial and a fairly conventional conservative (as opposed to someone like say, Ted Cruz) and Jeb Bush has been out of office for over six years so he’s not been on the news everyday like he was when he was Governor.
But when it comes to matchups, even though the two Republicans are popular; both do get beaten by Clinton pretty handily.
- Hillary Clinton: 50%, Jeb Bush: 43%
- Clinton: 53%, Marco Rubio: 41%
- Joe Biden: 43%, Bush: 47%
- Biden: 43%, Rubio: 45%
Clinton reaches or surpasses the 50% threshold that’s considered significant enough to gauge where a race stands. Still, it is incredibly early but each month that goes by (we are probably within a year and a half before candidates start declaring) continues to show that Hillary Clinton is very popular and will be a force to be reckon with, and I know in 2005 we said the same thing; but this might be different.
Clinton has gone through the primary process before and has been out of electoral politics since 2009. Its a mixed bag for her because now she will be battle tested, there is very little new you can throw at her (some argue Benghazi but I’m curious if that will be a story in ’15/’16) but her approvals HAVE to come down. She will face a barrage of attacks from the Republican Party and I find it hard to believe that there won’t be a Democratic primary too.
Nonetheless if you are keeping score at home, through the month of June in the year 2013; Hillary Clinton is still the frontrunner.