47% See Hillary Clinton as Politically Liberal
November 7, 2005
If Hillary Clinton runs for President in 2008, 29% of Americans say they would definitely vote for her. Forty percent (40%) would definitely vote against the former First Lady.
In seven months of Hillary Meter election polls, the number of Americans who would definitely vote for the New York Senator has ranged from a low of 26% to a high of 32%. The number who would definitely vote against her ranged from a low of 36% to a high of 41% (Review Trends).
Hillary’s reputation as a polarizing figure remains intact. Nationally, 40% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Hillary while 45% hold an unfavorable view. Demographic Cross Tabs are available for Premium Members.
Forty-seven percent (47%) now see Clinton as politically liberal, up from 44% two weeks ago. Over the past seven months, the number viewing her as politically liberal has ranged from a low of 42% to a high of 48%, often settling around 45%.
Thirty-one percent (31%) view New York’s Junior Senator as politically moderate while 8% say she’s conservative.
Collectively, today’s Hillary Meter places Senator Clinton a net 56 points to the left of the nation’s political center. Two weeks ago, she was 53 points to the left of center.
The political center is calculated by subtracting the number of liberals from the number of conservatives among the general public (35% conservative, 18% liberal for a net +17). For the Senator, 8% conservative minus 47% liberal equals a net minus 39. The minus 39 reading for Senator Clinton is 56 points away from the plus 17 reading for the general public.
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Americans say New York’s junior Senator is “very likely” to win the Democratic nomination in 2008. Another 33% say she is “somewhat likely” to be the party’s nominee.
Senator Clinton trails John McCain and Rudy Giuliani in hypothetical matches for the 2008 general election. Related surveys have shown Clinton leading Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush.
The Hillary Meter is a twice monthly measure of Senator Hillary Clinton’s effort to move to the political center. The next update is scheduled for Wednesday, November 16. For as long as the former First Lady is a viable candidate for the White House, Rasmussen Reports will monitor public perceptions of her political ideology.
Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.
Rasmussen Reports was the nation’s most accurate polling firm during the Presidential election and the only one to project both Bush and Kerry’s vote total within half a percentage point of the actual outcome.
During Election 2004, RasmussenReports.com was also the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web. We had twice as many visitors as our nearest competitor and nearly as many as all competitors combined.
Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.
Source: Rasmussen Reports
