A question about the negative poll numbers of Hillary and Trump?

[kentuck]

Are these polls taken over all political affiliations, or are they just Democrats for Hillary and Republicans for Trump?

I have assumed that the polls were taken over the population as a whole? If so, then they tell us very little.

After all, almost all Republicans have been programmed to believe Hillary is dishonest and is a crook. So, if her negative poll numbers are 54%, would you be surprised if almost all of those are from the Republican side of the aisle?

Trump's negatives are even higher than Hillary. It would be more instructive if we knew what percentage of those are Republican and what percentage are Democrats? To report that Hillary's negatives are almost equal to Trump's, without context, is dishonest reporting, in my opinion.

[JoePhilly]

1. If you ask ...

A almost any Clinton supporter if they'd vote for Bernie or Trump, they say Bernie.

Ask Bernie supporters if they'd vote for Clinton or Trump, and many of them will say Trump.

Why?

Because many Bernie supporters realize that the only potential leverage they have left are the national head to head polls.

They can't get enough votes or delegates in the states that remain.

So their only hope is to get enough super delegates to switch based not on votes or pledged delegates, but on national polls.

Its not going to work ... but its all they've got left.

[w4rma]

8. According to you,JoePhilly, all of us Sanders supporters are conspiring together to rig the polls.nt

[leveymg]

2. Hillary has been in negative numbers among all voters since 01/07. This is a permanent affliction.

A while back, I looked at historical negatives and posted on this last summer. It's across all party affiliations. See, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251452687

[kentuck]

3. Haters are gonna hate...

And Republicans are more negative and more hateful than Democrats, generally speaking about politics, in my opinion. They distrust the government and its representatives more than Democrats do, also, in my opinion. This will affect all polls when it is done over the population as a whole.

[leveymg]

4. It's a permanent problem for Hill. Fresher, but more intense for Trump. Not so much for Bernie.

That's just an inescapable fact of life. As candidate Obama observed, somewhat charitably, in February 2012:

"I think Sen. Clinton starts off with 47 percent of the country against her. That's a hard place to start if you want to win the election."

[kentuck]

5. I am not surprised that so many Republicans are against her...

But only after she decided to run for the Presidency. When she was former First Lady and Secretary of State, her polls were not so low.

[jamese777]

6. ABC News/Washington Post Poll

To answer the OP's question, there are three types of national polling samples from reputable polling organizations: 1) Adults; 2) Registered Voters; and 3) Likely voters. Polling samples can then be further broken down into Republicans, Independents and Democrats.

For example, here's a recent polling question asked of a national sample of adults:
ABC News/Washington Post Poll. May 16-19, 2016. N=1,005 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 3.5.

Regardless of whether you intend to vote for her, do you think Clinton is or is not qualified to serve as president?"
Is qualified: 63%
Is not qualified: 36%
Unsure: 2%

"Regardless of whether or not you'd vote for him, do you think Trump is or is not qualified to serve as president?"
Is qualified: 39%
Is not qualified: 58%
Unsure: 3%
http://www.pollingreport.com/wh16.htm

[kentuck]

7. Partisanship is so prevalent nowadays...

...and Republicans and Democrats are so negative, toward the other side, that it is difficult to see how or what numbers like these could really mean?

[w4rma]

9. Hillary peaked in 2010 and she went negative in April of 2015. She's only gone down, since 2010.(nt)