Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to increase her lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the race for the 2016 Democratic Presidential nomination in the wake of a good debate performance, being perceived as the “winner” when Congressional Republicans grilled her for 11 hours on Benghazi and Vice President Joe Biden’s decision not to enter the race. But she has had less success in boosting her poll numbers among the general electorate. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll:
Hillary Clinton has increased her dominant lead within the Democratic Party’s presidential contest, now besting rival Sen. Bernie Sanders by a margin of two to one among primary voters in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. But the Democratic front-runner remains unpopular with the general electorate, and fewer than a third of Americans give her high marks for being honest and straightforward.
In the new poll, conducted October 25-29, 62 percent of Democrats chose Clinton as their top choice to win their party’s presidential nomination, while 31 percent picked Sanders. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley received just three percent support.
That’s up from Clinton’s 25-point lead earlier in October, 58 percent to 33 percent.
In this most recent poll, more than eight in ten Democrats also say they can see themselves supporting Clinton for the nod, while only 61 percent say the same of the Vermont senator. An overwhelming majority of Democrats – 84 percent — believe that Clinton is the most likely to win the Democratic nomination, versus just 12 percent who say Sanders is the best bet. And a similar margin – 81 percent – believe that Clinton has the best chance of any Democratic candidate of winning the White House in 2016.
So this suggests she continues solidly on the path to the Democratic nomination — barring some new huge email development.
But she isn’t doing as well in the polls with the general electorate:
Despite ascendancy with Democrats – particularly after a strong debate performance, her marathon testimony on Capitol Hill regarding the Benghazi controversy and Vice President Joe Biden’s decision not to launch a White House bid – Clinton has little to show for her successful news cycles when it comes to the electorate at large.
Americans continue to have a net negative impression of her (40 percent positive/47 percent negative) – virtually unchanged from early October. Despite an effort by her campaign to present a softer side, she has not significantly improved her standing with registered voters on measures like “being compassionate enough to understand average people” or “being inspirational and an exciting choice for president.”
And a majority – 53 percent of registered voters – give her poor marks for “being honest and straightforward, while just 27 percent give her a thumbs up.
After her 11-hour testimony before a congressional committee investigating the Benghazi hearings, Clinton does appear to have significantly moved the needle with Democrats and with swing voters when it comes to how they view her handling of the controversy. But the electorate at large still remains skeptical about her response.
graphic via shutterstock.com
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.