Clinton popularity hits career low in national poll

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Is Clinton's lead in the polls only a post-convention surge?

Political panel debates the significance of the results

Hillary Clinton’s popularity has hit a new low with registered voters, according to the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll.

The poll, released Wednesday, shows just 41 percent of Americans have a positive view of Clinton while 56 percent have a negative view. Her unfavorable rating is up 6 percentage points in three weeks.

The numbers still show her doing better than Republican rival Donald Trump, whom just 35 percent view favorably. But Trump has long been the less popular candidate in such polls. Wednesday's survey reflects the worst rating Clinton has had in her entire career, and a slide in her numbers since the Democratic National Convention in July.

The shift seems to correspond to renewed focus on her use of a private email server and alleged conflicts of interest during her tenure as secretary of state involving the Clinton Foundation.

Her popularity among women flipped from 54-43 percent last month to 45-52 percent this month. It’s the first time in more than a year that women have viewed Clinton so unfavorably.

She’s also struggling with voters who have post-graduate degrees, with her popularity among them flipping from 60-39 percent in early August to 47-51 percent now, according to the poll. She’s stayed about the same among moderate voters polled.

The survey's findings erase a post-convention bump for Clinton, whose favorable rating rose to 48 percent in August.

Expectedly, 88 percent of Republican voters see her unfavorably.

For Trump, while there was no major change in overall popularity, he slipped 6 points in favorability among men but gained 7 among women.

The poll once again highlights the unpopularity of both candidates. In fact, Clinton and Trump remain two of the most unpopular U.S. presidential candidates in more than 30 years.

The Washington Post/ABC News poll was conducted by landlines and cell phones from Aug. 24-28, among a sample of 1,020 adults. There was a 3.5 percentage point margin of error.