Hillary’s Wild Ride Takes Her for a Loop

Hillary Clinton’s wild ride continues.  She finds herself now in the big, upside-down loop that marks the scariest and most dramatic spot on any roller coaster.

The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal survey marks the worst image rating for Hillary Clinton since her failed last attempt to capture the Democratic nomination.  Since her spring announcement and the companion “email-gate” scandal continues, Clinton’s image has dropped eleven points.

wildride

While Clinton has long been viewed negatively among male voters (33{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} positive/52{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} negative), her significant image problems that have developed among women is stunning.  As noted in a previous blog piece, when Hillary tumbles it is often the shifting views of female voters that are at the epicenter of the fall.

In years of tracking Hillary Clinton’s image, her previous low among women was 39{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} positive/44{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} negative.  Her current 41{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} positive/45{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} negative among women rivals that low.  Clinton has consistently been in very positive terrain among women:

wildridechart

This precipitous image decline has come among a broad range of female subgroups, including women of all ages and socio-economic status.

Also of note, is Clinton’s very weakened status among Independent voters.  Her 27{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} positive/52{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} negative image rating among Independents marks a new low for her.

This wild ride could very well continue.  But the challenges to Hillary Clinton are pretty clear as she banks on a female-driven effort to win the White House.

Polling for NBC/Wall Street Journal is conducted by Republican pollster Public Opinion Strategies and Democratic pollster Hart Research Associates. This analysis is our own and does not necessarily reflect the views of NBC/Wall Street Journal or Hart Research Associates.

Public Opinion Strategies