As Jeb Bush moves toward announcing his candidacy for president, here’s a quick look at how being part of a political “dynasty” plays in the polls for him and for Hillary Clinton.
While registered voters think a connection to a former president helps Hillary Clinton, voters think it hurts Bush. In an April Fox News poll, 58% of registered voters said being related to previous presidents is a disadvantage for Bush; 34% said it was an advantage. When asked the same question about Hillary Clinton, registered voters gave nearly the opposite response. Fifty-two percent said being related to a previous president was an advantage for her, while 39% said it was a disadvantage.
The partisan breaks on this question are particularly telling. Majorities of Democrat (59%), Republican (57%), and independent (60%) registered voters said his family was a disadvantage for Bush. For Clinton, responses were more partisan, with independents split. Forty-six percent of independents said her relation to a previous president was an advantage for her; 43% a disadvantage. At this stage of the election cycle, the polls confirm that Jeb Bush’s campaign is weighed down by lingering negative feelings associated with his brother’s presidency. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, enjoys the afterglow of her husband’s presidency which Americans increasingly view more favorably.
In general, though, registered voters say the idea of a Bush or Clinton dynasty doesn’t matter much to them. In an ABC News/Washington Post question from January, 57% of registered voters said that the fact that Jeb Bush’s father and his brother both served as president does not make a difference in the likelihood of their support for the former Florida governor. Fifty-nine percent of registered voters said the fact that Hillary Clinton’s husband served as president does not make a difference in their willingness to support her. More recently, an April–May CBS News/New York Times poll revealed that a strong plurality (47%) of registered voters believed having another member of one of these two families as the next president would not make much difference for the country. An identical 47% of registered Republicans, Democrats, and independents gave that response.
Ultimately, both candidates will be judged on their respective merits. They both face long roads ahead regardless of their families and will have to set themselves apart on the national stage—beyond their family names.
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