Hillary Clinton favorability ticks down; public split on email flap: poll

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s favorability is down a bit in a new poll as she inches closer to announcing a decision on a 2016 presidential run, and the public is divided on the recent controversy over her use of a private email while serving in the Obama administration.

A solid 53 percent had a favorable opinion of Mrs. Clinton and 44 percent had an unfavorable one, a CNN/ORC poll said. But that’s down from a 59 percent/38 percent split from a similar poll taken in November.

Fifty percent believed her to be honest and trustworthy and 49 percent did not, compared to 56 percent who thought her honest and trustworthy in November and 43 percent who did not.

Fifty-one percent said her use of a private email system as secretary of state is a “very” or “somewhat” serious problem, compared to 48 percent who said it was not too serious or not a problem at all.

Mrs. Clinton said she was abiding by the law, which she said gives her the power to use a private account and decide which emails to turn over. But she didn’t turn over emails she deemed work-related until nearly two years after she left office, after a department request.

She also said she used the single account out of convenience. Fifty-one percent said she has not done enough to explain the private e-mail system, and 51 percent also said she did something wrong by using a personal address and home-based server.

Mrs. Clinton still remains the undisputed frontrunner to secure the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, and it’s unclear at this point what the effect of the controversy will have on her possible White House run.

Fifty-two percent said the way she handled her email is not relevant to her character or her ability to serve as president.

And 58 percent thought generally she says what she believes, not what she thinks voters want to hear, and 57 percent said she is someone they would be proud to have as president.

The survey of 1,009 adults was taken March 13-15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.