Talk about going out on top! A week after leaving her post, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s popularity surpasses most major national politicians, including President Barack Obama, her successor John Kerry, and many other possible 2016 rivals in both parties, according to a poll released Friday.
Clinton has a 61% favorability rating, with only 34% unfavorability, according to the Quinnipiac poll. Vice President Joe Biden is the second most popular politician by the same measure, with a 46% -41% favorability. Obama trails him slightly with a 46% – 45% split.
Clinton also outpaces her possible contenders for 2016, although Americans say they still don’t know enough about two of those potential rivals. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush gets a thumbs up from 25% of respondents and a thumbs down from 29%, with 45% who don’t know enough about him to form an opinion. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who will deliver the GOP response to the State of the Union next week, has similar numbers, with a 27% to 15% split and 57% who don’t know enough.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who just took over for Clinton this week, gets favorable ratings from 43% of Americans, and unfavorable ones 33%.
Morgan Whitaker