Hillary Clinton’s unfavorable rating has reached its highest point in at least 23 years just days before she competes in the first Democratic presidential primary debate in Las Vegas.
According to a CBS News poll released Sunday, only one-third of registered voters nationwide view Clinton favorably, down almost 10 percentage points from August.
Fifty-three percent of U.S. voters hold an unfavorable opinion of the presidential candidate. This is the highest unfavorable score that Clinton has received since CBS News began asking voters about her favorability in 1992, 23 years ago.
Only a plurality of registered voters--47 percent--viewed the former secretary of state unfavorably in August as she continued to battle controversy surrounding her use of personal email while working in the Obama administration. A majority of Americans now view Clinton negatively as she heads into the primary debate Tuesday night.
Furthermore, 55 percent of independent voters have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton, more than twice the share of the 24 percent that views her positively. Among Democratic primary voters, fewer than seven out of 10 view her favorably.
Clinton’s unfavorable score is nearly twice the size of that of her strongest opponent, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. It is also significantly higher than that of Vice President Joe Biden, who is viewed negatively by just over one-third of registered voters and has yet to formally enter the 2016 presidential race.
Among Democratic primary voters, the unfavorable ratings for both Sanders and Biden are less than that earned by Clinton.
While Clinton remains the top choice for the nomination, her support has depleted by 12 percentage points since August, sinking to 46 percent. Among Democratic primary voters under the age of 50, Clinton and Sanders are locked in a statistical tie.