WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hillary Clinton's favorability rating fell slightly in June to 58%, from 64% in April. That is the first sub-60% rating Americans have given her since 2008. Clinton's unfavorable rating now stands at 39%, up from 31% in April.
The results are based on a June 1-4 Gallup poll. While Clinton has long been the most popular official, past or present, in the Obama administration, recent congressional testimony about the Benghazi controversy from so-called whistleblowers has called into question her leadership during her tenure at the State Department.
This poll shows only slight changes in the public's overall assessment of Clinton, with her unfavorable rating now marginally higher than at any time since 2008. However, there is no telling what the future might hold, as members of the House Oversight Committee have publicly speculated that Clinton may have to testify before the Republican-led committee again.
Independents View Clinton Less Favorably
Although Democratic and Republican attitudes toward Clinton have been static over these past contentious months, independents' views are now notably less favorable. A slim majority (52%) of independents hold a favorable opinion of Clinton, down from 63% in April.
Implications
While the broader impact of various controversies embroiling the White House is still unclear, new developments regarding the Benghazi incident may have taken a small toll on the public's feelings toward Clinton. Her unfavorable rating is higher than it has been since 2008, though it is lower than at other points in her career. But even with the downtick in Clinton's image -- and no doubt of interest to political junkies already assessing the 2016 presidential field -- her favorable rating currently eclipses that of at least one other rumored contender.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June 1-4, 2013, with a random sample of 1,529 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cellphone numbers are selected using random digit dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are weighted to correct for unequal selection probability, nonresponse, and double coverage of landline and cell users in the two sampling frames. They are also weighted to match the national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, population density, and phone status (cellphone only/landline only/both, cellphone mostly, and having an unlisted landline number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2012 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older U.S. population. Phone status targets are based on the July-December 2011 National Health Interview Survey. Population density targets are based on the 2010 census. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
View methodology, full question results, and trend data.
For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit www.gallup.com.
