--- description: Polls show Hillary Clinton has two problems with voters: They doubt that she is trustworthy and that she cares about people like them. title: Does Hillary Clinton's Trustworthiness Matter? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06960dab7e68b3bf/698854e65f570f7a5fb1c06e/gettyimages-477295594.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Does Hillary Clinton's Trustworthiness Matter? by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 17, 2015 7:39 PM CUT  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reads "Very Hungry Caterpillar" to a pre-k class talks at YMCA in Rochester, New Hampshire on Monday, June 15, 2015. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reads "Very Hungry Caterpillar" to a pre-k class talks at YMCA in Rochester, New Hampshire on Monday, June 15, 2015.The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 17, 2015 7:39 PM CUT Polls show Hillary Clinton has two problems with voters: They doubt that she is trustworthy and they’re divided over whether she cares about people like them. A [Quinnipiac University Poll](http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/2016-presidential-swing-state-polls/release-detail?ReleaseID=2234 "undefined") released Wednesday found that a majority of voters in the key swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio did not find her honest and trustworthy, while they were more evenly divided on whether she cares about their needs and problems. Her Republican opponents generally came off better on both measures. But Democrats and Clinton supporters believe that empathy will matter a lot more in the long run, arguing that her low scores on honesty are a reflection of her new status as a partisan political figure. “People are looking first and foremost for someone who will look out for them, fight for them, and get things done for them,” said Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster who worked on Clinton’s 2008 campaign. Another Democratic pollster, Celinda Lake, agreed. “The question for voters, are you in touch with my life and do you have a plan,” she said. “At the end of the day, the trust dimension that matters to people is they will to to look after them.” The Clinton campaign is building its strategy around that logic. It began with Clinton’s April announcement video, which featured a diverse rainbow of Americans. On the campaign trail, Clinton likes to tell voters that the campaign “is not about me, it’s about you,” saying she wants to be “a champion” for “everyday Americans.” “I’m running for everyone who’s been knocked down, but not knocked out,” she said in South Carolina Wednesday. Her policies, including universal pre-kindergarten, automatic voter registration, and her economic vision, also reflect a populist tilt. When asked recently about Clinton’s trustworthiness, campaign manager Robby Mook said it’s still early in the election cycle. “We are just now launching the campaign in earnest and the key question in this campaign as it relates to trust is, who can everyday Americans trust to go to bat for them.” He continued: “I am absolutely confident when she lays out her case it will be very clear to people that she will be that champion to stand up for them every single day.” Republicans, meantime, have attempted to hit Clinton on both trustworthiness and empathy. Hours before Clinton announced her candidacy, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul [released a video](http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/12/technology/rand-paul-hillary-clinton/index.html "undefined") that argued Clinton “represents the worst of the Washington machine,” while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has argued that she’s [“out of touch”](http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/04/20/walker-hillary-clinton-out-touch-american-people "undefined") with everyday Americans. “Whether it’s her flip flops on trade, secret email server or foreign donors to her foundation, Hillary Clinton is giving Americans plenty of reasons not to vote for her,” said Michael Short, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. It may be too soon to tell whether the poll numbers matter. Clinton’s Republican competitors aren’t as well known as the former Secretary of State, New York senator and First Lady. Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who worked for Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012, said that ultimately it will come down to how Clinton compares to her general election opponent. “You can still win an election and be underwater on trustworthiness if the other candidate is even worse than you,” he said. ### See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos  Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. AP  Law School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972\. They married in 1975. Clinton Presidential Library  Mother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—AP  Campaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982. AP  Arkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—AP  Political Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991. Danny Johnston—AP  Dignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992. Chris Ocken—AP  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992. Bill Sikes—AP  First Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—AP  Second-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  New York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Committee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Candidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  Author: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Grandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014. Office of President Clinton/AP  Once and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. 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