A strong majority of Americans supports a Hillary Rodham Clinton comeback campaign for president in 2016, a new poll shows.
The Washington Post/ABC survey found 57 percent backing a candidacy by the secretary of state to succeed her boss, President Obama, while 37 percent were opposed.
A broad gender gap emerges: Two-thirds of women support Clinton, as do 49 percent of men.
Clinton benefits from the highest approval ratings in her public life, as voters like the job she’s done as the nation’s top diplomat: 68 percent give her a thumbs-up.
Clinton will soon step down as secretary of state. She has dismissed talk of running for the White House after her narrow loss to Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary, but she has kept the door slightly ajar.
Young adults (18 to 29) support a Clinton run by nearly 2 to 1, while senior citizens are split. She garners 52 percent support from white voters, and 70 percent of minorities.
But the survey indicates that Clinton’s support may be overstated. For example, about 25 percent of Republicans say they’d support her candidacy — a level of GOP backing unlikely to be sustained at the ballot box.