A new poll out from CNN shows that a majority of voters consider Hillary Clinton as representing a candidate of the future when compared to the rest of the 2016 field. On the other end of the spectrum, Joe Biden and Jeb Bush were viewed as the candidates which most represent the past.
Report from CNN:
Who among the nascent field of 2016 contenders represents the future? For half of Americans, it’s Hillary Clinton.
Asked in a new CNN/ORC poll whether seven possible candidates better represent the future or the past, 50% said Clinton evoked the future, more than said so of any other candidate. By contrast, Joe Biden and Jeb Bush, whose names have been in the political conversation even longer than Clinton’s, were each seen as representing the past by 64% of Americans.
Even some relative newcomers to national politics are more closely linked to the past than the future. Half said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie represents the past, while 43% said he represents the future. On Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, 49% thought he represented the past, 41% the future. And 42% thought Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker represented the past, 39% the future.
Overall, across the field of seven, just two were deemed more “future” than “past,” and both were women: Clinton (50% future, 48% past) and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (46% future, 37% past).
I tend to think gender is skewing this result. Since we have not had a woman president yet, of course the two women mentioned in the poll could potentially represent the future when compared to the crop of white men.
