Poll: Nearly 6 in 10 view NRA favorably

The National Rifle Association continues to enjoy strong favorability among most Americans despite intense criticism from Democrats amid the 2016 presidential race.

Nearly six in 10 Americans, 58 percent, say they have a favorable view of the NRA, while 35 percent hold an unfavorable one, according to the latest Gallup poll released Thursday.

{mosads}That’s mostly in line with views about the group over the past decade. Positive views about the NRA ticked down to 54 percent in 2012 after the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting.

The NRA’s highest ratings were recorded in 2005, when 60 percent of Americans had a favorable view of the group. Its lowest was a decade earlier, at 42 percent.

Views about the NRA are split in terms of party ideology, with 77 percent of conservative respondents holding a favorable view and 65 percent of liberals holding an unfavorable one.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton went after the group in speeches following the shooting in Oregon earlier this month that left nine dead along with the gunman.

A Clinton campaign official pushed back earlier this week after the NRA accused Clinton of advocating gun confiscation when speaking of a new push for gun control.

A CNN poll released Wednesday found more Americans oppose stricter gun control than favor it.

The latest Gallup poll of 1,015 adults was conducted Oct. 7-11 with a margin of error of 4 points.