Hillary Clinton viewed unfavorably by nearly half of country, poll finds

The percentage of people who view Hillary Clinton unfavorably has jumped 8 points since she announced her 2016 Democratic presidential campaign in April, according to a new poll.

Clinton is viewed unfavorably by 49 percent of people in the United States, the Associated Press-GfK poll released Thursday found, up from 41 percent who expressed that view in late April.

{mosads}The percentage of people who view the former secretary of State favorably has fallen 7 points since the April poll to 39 percent, according to the poll. Among Democrats, that rating has fallen 11 points to 70 percent.

Meanwhile, President Obama’s approval rating in the poll, 46 percent, has stayed constant during the same period, with more than eight in 10 Democrats holding a favorable view of him. 

Clinton receives poor marks on honesty, compassion, inspiration and likability in the poll, though she is more positively viewed on metrics such as competence and decisiveness.

Her campaign has sought to reintroduce the former first lady and New York senator in recent months but has faced a barrage of attacks from Republicans over her email and family foundation.

The AP poll does not include measurements on Clinton’s Democratic challengers, primarily Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who have trailed her by huge margins in other polls.

However, the survey does measure the GOP candidates and suggests that views regarding presidential candidates generally are solidifying as the 2016 race picks up steam.

Both favorable and unfavorable views have ticked up in recent months for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, among others.

The poll of 1,004 U.S. adults was conducted July 9-13 online using randomly selected telephone numbers and the post office’s delivery files with an overall margin of error of 3.4 points.