Revelations
— and the ensuing scandal
— that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nixed a government email account in lieu of a private server run out of her home doesn't appear to have hampered her standing as the front-runner going into the 2016 presidential election.
Sixty-two percent of Americans surveyed in a
CNN/ORC poll conducted March 13-15 said they were likely to support Clinton in the 2016 Democrat primaries. Her next closest competitor was Vice President Joe Biden, who garnered just 15 percent support.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren received 10 percent support, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders got 3 percent. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley received less than 1 percent.
If Warren were not in the race, support for Clinton soared to 67 percent, while Biden picked up just 1 point.
Sixty-eight percent said Democrats have a better chance of winning the presidency in 2016 if Clinton is the party's nominee.
Fifty-three percent of those polled held a favorable opinion of Clinton, compared with 44 percent who viewed her unfavorably. Biden's favorability rating trailed Clinton by 10 points.
The former secretary of state's numbers are down 4 percentage points since the same time last year, and down 6 points since November.
On March 2,
The New York Times reported that during her four years in office, Clinton exclusively used her personal email account to conduct government business, calling into question whether she violated federal laws requiring the retention of official correspondence. Using a private server meant that Clinton's email records were kept at her New York home, allowing her complete control over what information was retained and purged without any oversight.
As the presumed Democratic nominee, Clinton also bested the slate of likely GOP candidates. When matched up against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 55 percent of poll participants said they'd choose Clinton while 40 percent chose Bush. Ditto for a matchup against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
When put up against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the split was 55 percent Clinton and 42 percent Rubio. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee received 41 percent support to Clinton's 55 percent, while Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul got 43 percent to Clinton's 54 percent.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson each received 40 percent to Clinton's 55 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
In the Republican field, Bush led the pack with 16 percent; followed by Walker (13 percent); Paul (12 percent); Huckabee (10 percent); Carson (9 percent); Christie and Rubio (7 percent); Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (4 percent); Ohio Gov. John Kasich (2 percent); and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (1 percent).