More voters than ever believe the September 2012 Benghazi, Libya, terrorist killings of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans will hurt Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House, according to a new poll.
Rasmussen Reports found that the highest ever percentage of voters — and a majority of veterans — believe the killings and Clinton’s actions as secretary of state at the time will undermine her second presidential bid.
Hillary Clinton testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Benghazi in 2013. AP Photo
The results come as an email scandal continues to pummel Clinton and as some members of Congress raise new questions that in destroying emails, she may be hiding something about the Benghazi affair.
The telephone-based survey revealed that 47 percent of likely voters “think the circumstances surrounding the murder of the U.S. ambassador and three other U.S. Embassy employees in Libya will hurt the former secretary of state if she runs for president in 2016.”
That is the highest percentage since Rasmussen started asking the question in early 2014.
Rasmussen said that 54 percent of U.S. military veterans will hurt Clinton versus 46 percent of those who haven’t served.
“Predictably, there is a clear partisan difference of opinion. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans believe Benghazi will hurt Clinton if she runs in 2016, but just 30 percent of Democrats agree. Half of voters in the former first lady’s party believe it will have no impact, but that’s down from 56 percent in the previous survey,” added the poll analysis.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
