Clinton 'dishonest,' Sanders 'socialist,Top reactions in Gallup poll

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The top reactions to Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a new Gallup poll are "dishonest" and "socialist," respectively.

In a word list of what comes to mind about Clinton, 21 percent of respondents described the former secretary of State as "dishonest/liar/don't trust her/poor character" in the survey released early Tuesday. 

 

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The next closest word associations are "dislike her" (9 percent), "like her" (8 percent), "capable of being president/qualified" (7 percent) and "criminal/crooked/thief/belongs in jail" (7 percent). 

 

For Sanders, 12 percent listed "socialist" as the word to describe him. Another 6 percent said "older/aged," while "favorable" and "fresh face/new ideas/change for the better" both received 5 percent.

 

The survey broadly underscored the findings of other polls of the Democratic race, where Clinton is generally viewed as qualified while Sanders is viewed as more trustworthy.

 

The perceptions of Clinton come after she edged out Sanders in Iowa and Nevada, while Sanders picked up a big win in New Hampshire. The pair are battling ahead of the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

 

Gallup noted that "dishonest" was also the most frequent response when they asked the same question about Clinton in 2008. And most references to "socialist" for Sanders in the latest survey came from Republicans.

 

The survey of 1,014 adults was conducted Feb. 13–14 with an overall margin of error of 4 points.