Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump may have been the front runners going into Super Tuesday, but both have low approval ratings with voters in Oregon, according to a new poll conducted for OPB.
The new survey found that 68 percent of Oregon voters hold a negative opinion of Trump, while 58 percent regard Clinton unfavorably.
In both cases, the two have worse ratings in Oregon than they do nationally.
Oregon Republicans are sharply divided about Trump, according to the late-February poll. He’s liked by only a scant majority — 53 percent — while a large minority — 42 percent — see Trump negatively.
Pollster John Horvick of DHM Research conducted the survey and said it highlighted how Trump has fractured the Republican Party.
”Whether a candidate Trump could keep the party together in a state like Oregon, there’s certainly numbers in here that suggest it would be very difficult,” Horvick said.
Unlike Trump, Clinton’s high unfavorable rating among all the voters surveyed may not hurt her much in Oregon’s May primary. A strong majority of Democratic voters — 72 percent — gave her positive marks.
Still, Clinton will have to contend with strong support for Sen. Bernie Sanders, who also received overwhelmingly positive remarks from Democratic voters in Oregon. Seventy-nine percent said they saw Sanders in a positive light, while 14 percent had a negative perception of him.
The poll by DHM Research was conducted Feb. 22-25, and surveyed 400 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.
Data by DHM Research of Portland
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Copyright 2016 Oregon Public Broadcasting
