Benghazi Hurting Hillary Clinton's Popularity, Poll Shows - East Idaho News
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Benghazi Hurting Hillary Clinton’s Popularity, Poll Shows

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GETTY 61113 HillaryClintonBenghazi?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1370943358137SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Benghazi might wind up being an albatross for Hillary Clinton.

Since 2008, when she unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president, Gallup has shown Clinton enjoying a favorability rating of at least 60 percent.  It was up to 64 percent in April.

However, a June 1-4 Gallup poll finds that Americans’ views on Clinton have hardened just a bit, with the favorability rating currently at 58 percent.

Perhaps even more significantly, the former secretary of state’s unfavorable rating has zoomed from 31 percent in April to 39 percent today.

Gallup says it’s the ongoing investigations into the deadly attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year and allegations of a possible cover-up by the State Department that have led to the slight erosion in Clinton’s popularity.

Clinton hasn’t said what her plans are down the road but most political pundits believe she’ll again run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, since she’s far and away her party’s favorite.

The Gallup poll also revealed another possible problem for Clinton: while the views of Democrats and Republicans are more or less unchanged about her, the favorable opinion she has among independents has dropped from 63 percent in April to 52 percent last week.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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