Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be the front-runner among potential candidates for the 2016 Democratic nomination, but most voters would rather see her party put a newcomer on the ballot, a new
Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey reveals.
The survey of 1,000 likely voters, conducted on March 16-17, revealed that 54 percent of them believe Democrats should seek a fresh face to run for president, not Clinton or other candidates who have already run in the past.
Further, just 22 percent think Democrats should use a past candidate, and 23 percent aren't sure.
But when likely Democratic voters were asked, a plurality of 44 percent thought the party should promote a prior candidate, such as Clinton, who lost the nomination to then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in 2008.
However, 57 percent of the Democrats surveyed would not commit to a past candidate, 36 percent said their party needs a fresh candidate, and 21 percent remained undecided.
In comparison, before Mitt Romney dropped out of the upcoming race, 64 percent of the voters surveyed in a December 2014
Rasmussen poll said Republicans should also seek a newcomer.
Meanwhile, voters are divided on their favorable opinions of Clinton, with 48 percent seeing her favorably and 49 percent unfavorably. Of these, 21 percent have a very favorable view, and 33 percent had a very unfavorable view of her.
The
numbers show Clinton's favorability ratings dropped slightly since September, when she had a 53-45 percent favorability rating.
Among party lines, 84 percent of the Democrats surveyed have a favorable opinion of Clinton, while 80 percent of Republicans viewed her unfavorably, with 70 percent of the GOP voters believing Democrats should find a new face to run.
Clinton may have trouble attracting voters not affiliated with either party, with the poll showing 56 percent of those not affiliated with either party viewing her unfavorably, including 34 percent seeing her very unfavorably. And of those voters, 58 percent believe her party should find a new person to run in 2016.
Older voters were more likely to have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton, but 65 percent of blacks and 56 percent of other minority voters viewed her favorably, while 54 percent of white voters had an unfavorable opinion of her.
The poll showed that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Joe Biden top the list of contenders if Clinton chooses not run. Further, only 28 percent of voters believe Clinton and Obama like each other, but 75 percent say he'll likely endorse her campaign.
The poll carried a margin of error of three points and a 95 percent level of confidence.