Post-ABC poll: Hillary Clinton reaches new heights of political popularity

January 23, 2013

As she heads to Capitol Hill this morning to testify regarding the death of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, Hillary Clinton has something her former legislative colleagues lack: the broad support of the American public.

Fully 67 percent of all Americans in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll now express favorable views of the outgoing secretary of state, a record high in the survey for Clinton, albeit by a single percentage point. By contrast, just 19 percent of people said they approved of the way Congress was doing its job in a Post-ABC poll released last week.

Clinton has nearly unanimous support from fellow Democrats — 91 percent — in the new poll, also a career best. She also scores a gaudy 65 percent approval score among independents and more than one in three (37 percent) of Republicans believe she is doing a good job. That’s more than double the number of Republicans who approve of the way President Obama is doing his job.

Republican antipathy toward Clinton has declined significantly in recent years. As recently as April 2008, 84 percent of Republicans said they had unfavorable views of the then-candidate for president. At the time, that number included 70 percent of Republicans who held “strongly unfavorable” impressions. Now, fewer than half that number — 32 percent — have intensely negative views.

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