The Governor of New Jersey had reason to rejoice last week when
Public Policy Polling released a poll summarizing all of the major possible 2016 presidential candidates favorability ratings. Not only is Christie the most liked national politician of the 18 PPP chose to test (he has a net 28 pt favorability rating, with
51% viewing him favorably,
23% unfavorably), but he is the only Republican that even comes close to giving Hillary Clinton a run for her money in a hypothetical 2016 match-up (trailing her just
44-42%). But the biggest story from the PPP release seems to have been lost by most of the media and punditry - Hillary Clinton has taken a pretty fair hit in her favorability rating.
In a survey taken January 3-6, 2013, Clinton clocks in with an impressive natonal favorable/unfavorable rating of
54/39% (+15 pts), but that's down from PPP's previous survey in December that measured her at
57/36% (+21 pts), and significantly down from the 65+% ratings she enjoyed throughout much of 2012. In fact, her January PPP rating is the lowest measured by any polling firm since last April. Below is a chart of Hillary Clinton's national favorability rating since 2011,
according to Talking Points memo, The Argo Journal, and assorted polling:
Over the course of the last two years, Clinton has averaged a very strong
61/30% favorable/unfavorable rating. Though that impressive average only serves to highlight how poor Hillary's current PPP rating is comparatively. In fact, the current PPP numbers are Hillary's 2nd worst since January 2011 (Rasmussen measured Hillary's favorability at
53/42% in April 2012, the only pollster to show Hillary weaker than PPP for the last two years).
