To: Interested Parties

From: Burning Glass Consulting & America Rising PAC

Date: April 6, 2015
Re: Hillary Clinton Comes Back To Earth

HILLARY CLINTON IMAGE DECLINE

As MSNBCs Alex Seitz-Wald noted last week: Over her
long career, Clinton has been most popular when shes
seen as least partisan. She was seen most favorably during
her tenure as secretary of state, a traditionally nonpartisan
job that had her speaking on behalf of all Americans
diplomatically. And she was also popular as first lady but
only after abandoning a divisive health care reform push.

When Hillary Clinton was confirmed as Secretary of State

in January 2009, her favorability rating stood at 57%-34%,
a status that remained relatively consistent during her early
years at Foggy Bottom.
Even in the aftermath of her Benghazi testimony before
the U.S. Senate, Clintons favorability ratings remained in
the mid to high 50s, which is where they were when she
resigned as Secretary of State.
At the end of March 2015, with the only change being that
Hillary Clinton is now a prospective presidential candidate,
her image has collapsed to a nearly 1:1 ratio with nearly as
many viewing her unfavorably (45%) as favorably (48%).

HILLARY CLINTONS (LACK OF) TRUSTWORTHINESS

As a political and notably secretive person with a long history of leaving the public questioning whether they have heard the
whole story from her, Hillary Clintons trustworthiness is in doubt. Recent polls show the email story is yet one more example
in which voters think she has been evasive and not told the whole story.
Nationally, a majority of voters (51%) now say that Clinton is not honest and trustworthy (Washington Post/ABC News,
March 2015).
In news that should cause great concern for the Clinton camp, Quinnipiac University just released polls in three critical 2016
states, Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania, that detail this lack of trust:

Q. Would you say that Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy or not?
YES

ALL

NO

YES

41%

50%

47%
44%

IND.

MEN

YES

36%

54%

35%

57%

47%

44%

46%

42%

50%

39%

56%

54%

37%

49%

43%

49%

34%

62%

53%

38%

NO

YES

WOMEN

NO

NO

Men seem to have settled on the fact that they cant trust Hillary Clinton, as have crucial independent voters. Women remain
more open-minded, but in research we have conducted with swing women, significant concerns exist about whether Hillary
Clinton is honest and forthcoming and whether or not she takes accountability for her actions.
The Quinnipiac polls found that a majority of voters in each of the battleground states think she has not told the whole story on
her emails and that questions remain. These findings echo what we found in our research with women about the Benghazi
situation: women were quite concerned that Hillary Clinton wasnt forthcoming, didnt tell the whole story, and failed to take
adequate responsibility for her actions.
For women, in particular, what is significant isnt the single story whether Benghazi or the emails it is the pattern. As they
continue to see and process that this is a Clinton pattern, their concern builds and that is what should most concern the Clinton
camp. These stories will only grow over the course of the campaign. While women remain open and generally supportive right
now, this support may very well fall away as they hear more about the Clinton Foundations foreign donor problems and other
baggage that has amassed over 20 years on the national political scene and which will keep trickling out over the course of the
next 19 months.
Not only has Clintons announcement been forced up by as much as three months, shes already been knocked off her
Secretary of State pedestal and back into the lens of being viewed as another partisan politician. Data and history tells us
thats when shes at her weakest and most vulnerable. Heading into her official campaign kickoff, thats exactly where she
finds herself positioned, and many voters, it seems, have heard enough.