The 2016 election is a little over 18 months away which can be a lifetime in the world of politics.
It is assumed by most people Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. Martin O’Malley may have something to say about that but as it stands at this point, Hillary is the runaway choice to secure the nomination.
As for her potential opponents, the GOP field is still being fleshed out with only Ted Cruz making it official. Two other GOP Senators, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul are expected to announce their candidacies within the next two weeks.
Even though it is early, Hillary cannot be too pleased about some recent polling data that shows her numbers falling:
Hillary Clinton’s lead over her would-be GOP foes has slipped in three critical swing states as the growing controversy over her email use has dominated coverage of the likely Democratic presidential candidate.Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush scrapes past Clinton with a three-point lead, still within the margin of error, in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. Clinton had a one-point edge in the Florida dead heat Quinnipiac reported in early February.The last two months have also erased Clinton’s previously double-digit lead over every other potential GOP contender for the presidency in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.Sen. Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican from Kentucky, is now the man to beat in Ohio after he narrowed his margin against Clinton to just a five-point deficit, according to Tuesday’s poll. Paul, who is expected to announce his bid for the presidency next week, trailed Clinton by 12 points in Quinnipiac’s early February poll.
Pennsylvania is going to be a critical state for Republicans and a well run campaign and GOTV operation in that state could turn it red so those numbers should concern her team.
The drop also points to an issue Hillary Clinton has had for some time (and it’s becoming a concern among Democrats) is when she’s engaging the public in any way, her poll numbers drop. Last fall when her book tour ended the results were a disaster:
Hillary Clinton’s favorability ratings continue to tumble as she re-enters the political fray, with 43% of respondents now saying they view her positively, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, down from a high of 60% in 2009.
Clinton’s email troubles along with that bad press conference (where a lot of what she said has turned out not to be true) have no doubt contributed to the latest drop.
When she officially makes an announcement, she will be in the public that much more. It will be interesting to see how the numbers continue to shake out.
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