--- title: Hillary Clinton Unfavorable Rating Rises in Poll But GOP Rivals Lag description: Hillary Clinton's reputation may have taken a hit after a month of bruising controversies, but a new poll suggests that she's still the candidate to beat for the 2016 presidential elections. canonical: https://time.com/3846355/hillary-clinton-2016-poll-wsj-nbc/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-05T00:08:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:10.660Z article:section: Politics og:title: Hillary Clinton Unfavorable Rating Rises in Poll But GOP Rivals Lag og:description: Hillary Clinton's reputation may have taken a hit after a month of bruising controversies, but a new poll suggests that she's still the candidate to beat for the 2016 presidential elections. og:url: https://time.com/3846355/hillary-clinton-2016-poll-wsj-nbc/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b954d81402e6b0f/6987ee4f2dce01d5989e1a99/453979631.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton Awarded The 2013 Lantos Human Rights Prize og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hillary Clinton Unfavorable Rating Rises in Poll But GOP Rivals Lag twitter:description: Hillary Clinton's reputation may have taken a hit after a month of bruising controversies, but a new poll suggests that she's still the candidate to beat for the 2016 presidential elections. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b954d81402e6b0f/6987ee4f2dce01d5989e1a99/453979631.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Clinton Slips in New Poll, But Stays Ahead of GOP Rivals  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey May 5, 2015 12:08 AM UTC  Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks after being presented the 2013 Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize December 6, 2013 in Washington, DC. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks after being presented the 2013 Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize December 6, 2013 in Washington, DC.Win McNamee—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey May 5, 2015 12:08 AM UTC Hillary Clinton’s reputation may have taken a hit after a month of bruising controversies, but a new poll suggests that she’s still the candidate to beat for the 2016 presidential elections. Clinton’s share of unfavorable ratings climbed by 6% since March, according to the NBC/Wall Street _Journal_ [poll](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/despite-sustaining-hits-hillary-clinton-remains-formidable-2016-nbc-wsj-n353386) released Monday. Her reputation for honesty, in particular, slipped by 13 points from the year before. Nonetheless, Clinton held a solid lead over the Republican candidates, all of whom drew more negative than positive ratings. Rand Paul narrowly emerged as the strongest contender in a general election, garnering 43% support to Clinton’s 47%. Overall, Clinton split voters down the middle, with 42% rating her positively and another 42% rating her negatively_._ The survey was drawn from the responses of 1,000 adults and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent. ### 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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