The Iowa State Fair ended last weekend, and just as quickly as the carnies packed up and moved on, so may be Hillary’s support among voters.
A new poll released today shows a surge by rival Bernie Sanders and a dramatic drop for Clinton.
The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg finds 37% of prospective Democratic caucus goers say Hillary is their first choice. Thirty percent want Sanders, CBS reports.
In June, a similar poll found Clinton trouncing Sanders, 50% to 24%. That’s a loss of 13 percentage points for Clinton amid the classified email scandal and doubts about her trustworthiness.
The Register notes Clinton has lost a third of her support since May. That month, she enjoyed the support of 57% of Democratic caucus goers.
Clinton has a favorability rating among Democrats of 77%, a decline of 9 points. Sanders, meanwhile, is viewed favorably by 73% of Democrats, an increase of 26 points.
The Register/Bloomberg survey also finds 14% of Democrats would vote for Biden, though he has yet to declare his candidacy.
The new poll marks the first time Clinton has fallen below the 50% mark. The question is, how low will she go?
In another development that would have been considered unheard of just a few weeks ago, pollsters asked who voters would support if Clinton actually dropped out of the race.
If that were to occur, 51% say they would want a new candidate to enter the race, while 39% say they are happy with the current slate.
“Since Biden is not part of the current slate, that may be more evidence that he’s an acceptable substitute for Clinton, although not the preferred one,” the paper reports in a separate story.
For weeks, Clinton’s Iowa support has been viewed as the counterpoint to Sanders’ New Hampshire surge.
There, a poll found Sanders leading Hillary among Democratic voters, 42% to 35%, according to Salon.
Clinton’s problems aren’t isolated to just those two states.
A new poll in the swing state of Michigan reveals Hillary’s scandals are taking a toll on her base of support.
Clinton is dramatically underwater when it comes to voter approval. The 6 News poll finds 55% view her unfavorably while only 42% like her.
She’s so disliked, her unfavorable rating is actually a point higher than Republican rival Donald Trump, who chronically suffers from high unpopularity ratings.
“There’s not one region of the state where her favorability numbers are bigger than her negatives,” according to reporter Tim Skubick — including Democrat stronghold Detroit.
Interestingly, 63% of the all-important independents don’t like her. In a hypothetical matchup, she trails by 22% among independents.
“Yes, she does but that is declining,” pollster Bernie Porn says of her more wide-spread support than rival Trump. “It is a trust thing. Anytime you have 55% unfavorable you have a problem connecting with people.”
Porn, whose firm has primarily worked for Democratic campaigns and liberal groups, concedes, “That’s serious erosion of voter support.”
The pollster believes there is time for Clinton to turn things around, but “they have to deal with her image.”
Bill Clinton won the state both times he ran. In 1992, he netted 43.77% of votes (compared to President George Bush’s 36.38%) and 51.69% in 1996.
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