Poll: Edwards still unpopular, unwelcome in office

The survey, from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, shows 15 percent of North Carolina voters viewing him favorably, while 67 percent have a negative view of the former senator.

That’s a slight improvement from PPP’s last poll on his popularity, conducted a year ago, which showed 11 percent of North Carolina voters viewing him favorably while 73 percent viewed him negatively.

{mosads}But the improvement in his standing isn’t enough to pave the way to a comeback bid: Sixty-seven percent say they wouldn’t vote for him if he were to run for office again.

Edwards became one of the nation’s least popular politicians after it was revealed that he cheated on his wife, who later died of cancer. He was later indicted on multiple charges of misusing campaign funds to help cover up the affair, but the Justice Department eventually dropped the charges.

Around the beginning of his trial, a poll showed Edwards to be at the evident nadir of his popularity, with only 3 percent of those polled nationwide viewing him favorably.

Other politicians have recently managed to overcome sex scandals to pursue elected office again. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), best known for disappearing to visit a mistress in Argentina while serving as governor of South Carolina, was recently elected to the House.

And former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who sent a photo of his genitals to a woman who was not his wife over Twitter, and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), once a prominent client of an upscale prostitution ring, are both making comeback bids — and gaining traction in the polls.

The poll was conducted among 600 registered voters from July 12-14 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.