A GLIMPSE at how the presidential contest is developing was summed up nicely by a recent headline in the Los Angeles Times: “A Trump-Clinton general election poses a question: Which one does America hate less?”  The parties’ putative candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, are unloved by most voters, consistently chalking up negative favourability ratings this year.  Indeed, Mr Trump has succeeded in the primaries—he won another 27 delegates in the Republican primary in Washington state on May 24th—but he is the most unpopular candidate overall in recent times.  In YouGov’s latest poll for The Economist he is viewed unfavourably when broken down by gender, age, race and income groups (Mrs Clinton can take little comfort from the fact that in those categories only blacks and Hispanics view her favourably). 

The protracted primaries, and concurrent party sniping, hasn’t helped.  Candidates often become more popular once it is clear that they have secured the nomination, as happened with John Kerry in 2004, and their image changes from contender to victor.  This is not always the case, however.  Mitt Romney was viewed unfavourably throughout most of his run in 2012, getting only a small boost once he won the Republican nomination.  In September that year, two months before the election, he still had a negative favourability rating in Gallup polling, the only presidential candidate from either party to gain that distinction at that stage of campaigning since at least 1988.  This year will be different by having not one but two unpopular candidates.  Just a third of Americans have a favourable view of Donald Trump.  Mrs Clinton does little better at 40%, but she might take heart from her husband’s campaign.  Bill Clinton had a negative favourability rating throughout the spring and early summer on 1992, but it jumped from 41% to 62% when the Democratic National Convention got under way.  She will be looking for a similar fillip, Bernie Sanders permitting, at Philadelphia in July.