Poll: NYC voters against Hillary Clinton bid for mayor

Hillary Clinton might be the overwhelming favorite in 2016 presidential polls, but New Yorkers are against the secretary of State making a bid to lead their city.

A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University showed that more than half of New York City voters do not believe Clinton should mount a mayoral campaign. But while 51 percent are against the idea, 46 percent support a Clinton for Mayor campaign.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) tried to encourage Clinton to run as his successor. Clinton firmly declined the overtures, according to the report.

The secretary of State, who is expected to step down at the end of the president's first term, has said that she is looking forward to private life. Still, speculation has swirled about her political future.

In a PPP poll released last week, 57 percent of voters said they had a favorable opinion of the former first lady, while just 36 percent said they had an unfavorable view. Clinton was the choice of more than six in 10 Democratic primary voters asked whom their preferred 2016 presidential candidate was, blowing the rest of the field out of the water. Vice President Biden, who ranked second on the list, earned only 12 percent of primary voters.

Clinton has repeatedly denied interest in again seeking the presidency.

"I have been on this high wire of national and international politics and leadership for 20 years," she told Marie Claire magazine in October. "It has been an absolutely extraordinary personal honor and experience. But I really want to just have my own time back. I want to just be my own person. I'm looking forward to that."

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