Poll: Hillary Clinton retiring with 69 percent job approval

Hillary Clinton will step down from her job as head of the State Department this month with nearly 70 percent of the country approving the job she’s done there, according to a new poll released Thursday.

Clinton has 69 percent job approval, which includes 92 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of self-identified Independents and 41 percent of Republicans, according to the poll from NBC News and The Wall Street Journal.

Only a quarter of the country — 25 percent — disapprove of the job she's done as the country's top diplomat, despite criticism last year over her role in events leading up to the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.

Even though the former first lady has consistently denied her interest in running for president in 2016, she appears to be in excellent shape for what would be her second bid for the White House.

A Florida poll, also released Thursday by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP), put Clinton well in the lead in a hypothetical 2016 Democratic primary against other possible Democratic candidates, including Vice President Biden, who took second place with only 15 percent of the vote in the poll compared to Clinton’s overwhelming 65 percent.

According to PPP, Clinton would also likely win Florida if she ran against possible potential Republican candidates Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

In a hypothetical match-up, 50 percent of Florida voters gave the nod to Clinton, compared with 46 percent who chose Rubio. Pitted against Bush, Clinton claimed a 5-point edge, 49 percent to 44 percent.

Clinton's lead in the hypothetical match-up falls within the poll's margin of error, which is 4 percent.

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