American voters divided on Hillary Clinton: poll
'Voters worry that if she’s really such a political animal, can you really trust her?' pollster says
Hillary Clinton might be the prohibitive favorite for the 2016 Democratic nomination, but Americans are equally divided about voting for her, a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds.
According to the results of the survey released on Wednesday, 38 percent of registered American voters say they would vote for Clinton if she decides to run, while 37 percent said they would "definitely" oppose her.
“She is perceived to be such a massively skilled politician," Republican pollster Bill McInturff said in a release accompanying the poll. "Voters worry that if she’s really such a political animal, can you really trust her?”
The results suggest a deeply partisan divide exists when it comes to a Clinton candidacy. Among registered Democrats, 75 percent say they would vote for Clinton. But 70 percent of Republicans and 40 percent of independents say there’s “no chance” they would vote for her.
"As she moves from being secretary of state to being the 2016 candidate, she’s going through a different filter in how she’s being viewed,” McInturff said. “And how she’s being viewed is through an increasingly partisan lens.”
The poll also found Clinton's current book tour — which has included a series of high-profile interviews to promote her memoir, "Hard Choices" — has dinged her approval rating.
Before the tour, Clinton's approval rating was 48 percent. According to the poll released on Wednesday, it's now 44 percent, with 37 percent disapproving of her.
By comparison, more people disapprove of the job President Barack Obama is doing (45 percent) than approve (41 percent), a separate NBC poll released on Wednesday found. Two months ago, Obama's approval rating (44 percent) was higher than his disapproval rating (41 percent).
Clinton's approval rating is highest among African-Americans (82 percent positive; 5 percent negative). And a majority of women (51 percent) gave Clinton a favorable rating.
Just 10 percent of Republicans view Clinton in a positive light, the poll found.
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