Poll: Vast Majority of Democrats and Independents Want Challengers For Hillary Clinton

Katie Pavlich | April 13, 2015 7:30 AM

Hillary Clinton may have announced she's running for president over the weekend, but the majority of Democrats don't seem to be too enthused. According to a new poll from Bloomberg, 72 percent of Democrats and Independents want to see a serious challenger on the left side of the aisle against her.

If Hillary Clinton is to become her party's 2016 presidential nominee, independents and even Democrats overwhelmingly want to see her earn the title, according to a Bloomberg Politics national poll that also shows increasing headwinds for her candidacy.

As Clinton prepared to formally announce her candidacy on Sunday, nearly three-quarters of Democrats and independents in the survey said it would be a good thing for the Democratic Party if she were to face a "serious" challenger for the nomination. Democrats and independents hold the same view, with 72 percent of both groups saying her party would be best served by a robust primary.

Clinton's other problem? A majority believe she either destroyed or withheld important government emails and more voters in swing states now see her as dishonest.

Even 26 percent of Democrats believe she has purposefully withheld e-mails or deleted them. That number jumps to 60 percent for independents and 81 percent for Republicans.

The e-mail controversy may be one of the factors depressing Clinton's overall standing. Just 48 percent view her favorably, down four points since December and marking the first time her standing has fallen below 50 percent in Bloomberg polls dating to September 2009. Her high was 70 percent in December, 2012.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden are all potential challengers for Clinton. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is a favorite among the far left to run, but Warren has repeatedly insisted she isn't interested in a 2016 White House bid. Last week, Democrat Lincoln Chafee officially launched a presidential exploratory committee and said Clinton "shouldn't be president."