Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday responded to criticism over recent comments she made on migration in Europe.
- Hillary Clinton hasn't ruled out running for the White House in 2020. But her chances in this new presidential race might be worse than those in 2016.
- Though the odds of her announcing a run are low, CNN reported that Clinton has told friends she's not closing the door on 2020 - yet.
- As the 2020 Democratic field fills up, Clinton might face different challenges than she did in 2020, coupled with approval ratings that are on par with Donald Trump's.
Hillary Clinton hasn't shown any indications that she will run for the White House in 2020 - but she also hasn't publicly ruled out the option.
On Monday, CNN reported that Clinton has not closed the door on 2020, according to close friends.
"I'm told by three people that as recently as this week, she was telling people that, look, given all this news from the indictments, particularly the Roger Stone indictment, she talked to several people, saying 'look, I'm not closing the doors to this,'" said CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny. Still, he added, "it does not mean that there's a campaign-in-waiting, or a plan in the works."
One close Clinton friend told Zeleny "it would surprise me greatly if she actually did it."
But if she did, Clinton would face challenges wildly different from those she dealt with in 2016.
For starters, the Democratic field will not be cleared for her as it was in 2016 - up to two dozen Democrats could declare presidential campaigns. And there seems to be a general consensus among Democrats that it is time to move on and face Donald Trump with a new candidate.
Read more: A former top aide to Hillary Clinton says there's a 'not zero' chance she'll challenge Trump in 2020
The Washington Post reported that it is rare for failed presidential nominees to earn their party's nomination a second time. And if they did, it is still even more rare for the candidate to go on and win the White House. The last time this happened was in 1968, when Richard Nixon, a failed presidential nominee, ran for a second time and won.
There's also the issue of Clinton's falling approval ratings. Though 87% of Democrats held a favorable opinion on Clinton the week of the election, that number dropped to 76% after she lost and has stayed around there ever since, according to a September 2018 poll.
Her overall approval rate, however, has suffered a deeper cut: the last time Gallup measured support for Clinton, her approval rate was at all-time low of 36%, which is just as bad as Trump's.