Little Crossover Appeal for Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush WSJ/NBC Poll
Its hard to find people open to supporting both Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush.
Despite claims the two potential White House hopefuls would bring some crossover appeal to the next presidential race in 2016, only 8% of American adults say they would be open to both, according to the results of the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. One in five people surveyed said they couldnt support either.
Thats not terribly surprising for Americas two reigning political dynasties. Both families engender as much anger from opponents as they do enthusiasm from supporters. But it suggests a contest between the two would break along predictably partisan lines.
Neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Bush is a lock to run, but, at this early stage in the posturing, the poll results look much better for the former secretary of state. Half of all American adults said they would be open to supporting Mrs. Clinton, while 48% said they couldnt.
Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor, would start the race with 57% of adults saying they wouldnt be open to voting for him for president. Just 31% said they would. Unlike Mrs. Clinton, who scores well among Democrats, a third of all Republicans said they wouldnt vote for Mr. Bush.
One trend starting to emerge: Mrs. Clinton appeals to many of the same groups as President Barack Obama, with some notable exceptions. Hart Research Associates, the Democratic polling firm that conducts the Journal survey with the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies, compared Mrs. Clintons support among 21 demographic groups with Mr. Obamas support in 2012.
The numbers showed nearly identical, dismal levels of support for both Mrs. Clinton and the president among white men (right around 35%), but Mrs. Clinton far exceeds what the president tallied among white women, with 52% saying they would be open to support her.
Mrs. Clinton would have to make up some ground to match Mr. Obamas numbers among black and Hispanic voters. But the former secretary of state has a big edge among small-town and rural voters. Perhaps most interesting, Mrs. Clinton does much better among Latino women than she does among Latino men.
The poll also found evidence that to win the presidency, Mrs. Clinton would need to distinguish herself from the president. Some 22% of voters said they would be open to supporting Mrs. Clinton but also want to see the next president move in a different direction than the current officeholder.
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Little Crossover Appeal for Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush WSJ/NBC Poll