For the 19th time, Americans picked Hillary Clinton as their most admired woman in the world, according to Gallup.
The public opinion research company has been asking Americans to name the man and woman they most admire for almost 70 years, and Clinton has topped that list more than any other woman — including her hero Eleanor Roosevelt, who was named the most admired woman 13 times.
This year, as the former secretary of state contemplates a second presidential run, marks Clinton’s 13th straight year as the country’s most admired woman. Her reign as most admired woman has been interrupted only twice, once by Mother Teresa in the 1990s, and then again by former First Lady Laura Bush shortly after 9/11.
And Clinton would likely be happy with her company. In second place is perennial runner-up Oprah Winfrey, followed by Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Prize-winning Pakistani activist whom Clinton often praises.
Topping the list of most admired men once again is President Obama, Clinton’s former boss and fellow Democrat, whose political strength heading into 2016 could help or hinder a Clinton presidential run. Number two on the list is Pope Francis, but number three is Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Presidents almost always top the list of most admired men, while first ladies are usually Americans’ top choice for women. The only non-presidents on the list of most admired men are Pope John Paul II (1980), former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (1972-1975), and General Douglas MacArthur (1946-1947).
Despite being the top vote-getter in 2014, Clinton’s support is hardly unanimous. Only 12% of respondents picked Clinton as their most admired woman. That’s slightly down from last year, when 15% chose her, and almost halved from 2012, when 21% chose Clinton.
That drop is reflective of other polls, which show her popularity falling as Americans increasingly view Clinton as a partisan politician since stepping down as secretary of state.
Not surprisingly, Gallup found wide partisan differences in the results. While one in five Democratic respondents chose Clinton, Republicans picked former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as their most admired woman.
The results were based on a telephone survey of 805 American adults from December 8-11. The margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.
Alex Seitz-Wald