Two new polls show that Hillary Clinton is much less weighed down by baggage from her past than her Republican counterpart Jeb Bush. In the first poll, more voters nationally see her representing the future than any other candidate tested. In the second, a swing state poll, voters have far more hang-ups about Bush's family ties than they do Clinton's.
Here's the result of the CNN/ORC poll:
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.
In fact, Clinton outperformed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (43 percent future), Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (41 percent future), and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (39 percent future). The only two candidates who got higher marks for being the future than the past were both female and Democrats: Clinton (50 percent future, 48 percent past) and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (46 percent future, 37 percent past).
A Quinnipiac poll of the swing states Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia, found Clinton bested every GOP candidate in Colorado and Iowa, but tied with Jeb Bush at 42 - 42 in Virginia (by far, her worst state among the three).
But the poll also suggested that voters have a much bigger issue with the history associated with Bush's family ties than they do Clinton's.
Voters were asked if they were less/more likely to vote for a candidate based on their family ties.
Colorado
Bush: 39 percent, less likely; 8 percent, more likely
Clinton: 24 percent, less likely; 15 percent, more likely
Iowa
Bush: 35 percent, less likely; 8 percent, more likely
Clinton: 18 percent, less likely; 15 percent, more likely
Virginia
Bush: 35 percent, less likely; 9 percent, more likely
Clinton: 21 percent, less likely; 16 percent, more likely
Surprisingly, it's Sen. Rand Paul who polls best against Clinton in these swing states. Paul comes the closest to beating her in Colorado and the second closest to beating her in Iowa (one point behind Mike Huckabee).
Colorado
Clinton 43 – Paul 41
Iowa
Clinton 45 – Paul 37