Rasmussen: The 'Hillary Meter"

[Annie]

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Hillary Meter.htm

Hillary Meter: 43% Liberal

32% Definitely Vote For, 37% Definitely Vote Against

Survey of 1,500 Adults

April 1-3, 2005

Election 2008

If Hillary Runs?

Definitely Vote For 32%
Def Vote Against 37%
Depends On Who She Runs Against 26%
RasmussenReports.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election 2008

Hillary Political Ideology

Conservative 8%
Moderate 34%
Liberal 43%
RasmussenReports.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election 2008

Hillary

Favorable 44%
Unfavorable 40%
RasmussenReports.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Election 2008

How likely is it that Senator Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic candidate for President in Election 2008?

Very Likely 27%
Somewhat Likely 36%
Not Very Likely 20%
Not at All Likely 9%
RasmussenReports.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 6, 2005--Sixty-three percent (63%) of Americans say it is somewhat or very likely that Senator Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee in 2008.

With this in mind, Rasmussen Reports is launching the Hillary Meter--a twice monthly measure of Senator Hillary Clinton's effort to move to the political center. For as long as the former First Lady is a viable candidate for the White House, we will continue to monitor public perceptions of her political ideology.

As part of the process, we'll measure her favorability ratings and also find out how many people will definitely vote for her or against her. From time-to-time, we'll test her numbers on a state-by-state basis with a special interest in the marginally red states that a Democrat must win to capture the White House.

The first edition of the Hillary Meter finds that Senator Clinton has been somewhat successful in moderating her image over the past couple of months. Currently, 43% of Americans view the former First Lady as politically liberal. That's down from 51% at the end of January.

At the same time, the number who view Mrs. Clinton as politically moderate has increased from 27% to 34%.

However, the current numbers for Mrs. Clinton are to the left of John Kerry's ratings at the beginning of Election 2004. Perceptions of Senator Kerry shifted significantly during the campaign. In January, just 37% viewed the eventual Democratic nominee as politically liberal. That increased to 53% by mid-October.

An earlier Rasmussen Reports survey found that 51% of Democrats want a 2008 candidate who is closer to the political center than John Kerry. Other survey data shows that Mrs. Clinton is the top choice among Democrats by a wide margin.

While moderating her image, Mrs. Clinton remains a polarizing figure--32% say that if she is the Democratic nominee, they will definitely vote FOR her. A slightly larger number, 37% will definitely vote AGAINST. Twenty-six percent (26%) say it depends upon who she runs against.

Among women, 33% would definitely vote FOR Senator Clinton while 34% would definitely vote AGAINST her.

Forty-four percent (44%) of Americans have a favorable opinion of Senator Clinton while 40% have an unfavorable view. That's little changed over the past month.

In January, Hillary Clinton had a 47% to 40% lead over Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a hypothetical match-up.

More recently, we found that Senator Clinton holds a wide lead over Vice President Dick Cheney, 49% to 30%.