Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers continue fall among voters

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Time has not been kind to Hillary Clinton, polls show, as the former first lady has watched her favorability ratings drop dramatically over the past year and her performance in hypothetical November matchups with leading Republicans deteriorate.

(Article by Ben Wolfgang, republished from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/24/hillary-clinton-poll-numbers-continue-fall-among-v/)

Political analysts say Mrs. Clinton has fallen victim to a tougher-than-expected primary fight against Sen. Bernard Sanders, a contest in which independents and hard-core progressives have abandoned her in droves in favor of the Vermont senator’s insurgent campaign.

At the same time, her favorable rating and voters’ faith in her as an honest candidate have suffered as the scandal around her use of a private email account while secretary of state has grown.

Now looking to move past Mr. Sanders and train her full attention on the general election fight, Mrs. Clinton must work to recapture voters she has lost this primary season and erase a trust deficit that could spell doom for the Democratic Party in November.

“Her numbers have slipped because she has been through a grueling primary process where young people don’t see her as fighting for their issues and independents being skeptical of her character. That combination has raised her negatives and weakened her matchup numbers against some Republicans,” said Darrell West, director of governance studies at The Brookings Institution. “The decline shows that she has not yet unified the party or eased some of the character concerns that surround her. Sanders has exposed key weaknesses in her. By continuing to raise money, he is able to keep attacking her even while it is clear she will be the Democratic nominee.”

Mrs. Clinton’s favorability ratings have taken the hardest hit. In April 2015 48 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of her, compared to 42 percent who said they had an unfavorable view, according to Gallup surveys.

In the most recent Gallup Poll — conducted between March 28 and April 10 — only 40 percent of Americans said they have a favorable view of the former first lady, while 54 percent said they have an unfavorable opinion of her.

That steep decline goes hand in hand with sinking poll numbers against leading Republican candidates. While the figures vary from poll to poll, most surveys show she now does worse against GOP contenders than she did one year ago.

A Quinnipiac poll taken in May 2015, for example, saw her beating Republican front-runner Donald Trump by 18 points. A Quinnipiac survey released last month gave her just a six-point edge.

A Fox News poll conducted in July of last year gave her a 17-point win over Mr. Trump. A Fox survey released earlier this month showed her winning by just seven points.

Her general election performance against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also has declined, though not as dramatically.

A hypothetical contest against Ohio Gov. John Kasich, by all accounts the most moderate Republican still left in the party primary, is where Mrs. Clinton has fallen hardest, perhaps a sign that independents and moderates are fleeing her side.

A Fox News poll released in July 2015 said she would beat Mr. Kasich by 19 points. A Fox survey released two weeks ago said she’d lose to the Ohio governor by nine points.

The troubling figures come as she remains unable to fully dispatch Mr. Sanders and end a Democratic primary race once thought to be little more than a coronation ceremony for Mrs. Clinton.

While she’s far ahead in the delegate race and likely will secure big wins in Pennsylvania, Maryland and possibly elsewhere in a slate of primaries Tuesday, Mr. Sanders has vowed to remain in the race all the way until the party convention in July.

Read more at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/24/hillary-clinton-poll-numbers-continue-fall-among-v/

To read more about Hillary Clinton News, please go to Clinton.news for all the latest updates