A new CNN poll shows Democrat frontrunner Hillary Clinton struggling against her potential Republican rivals.
The poll of registered voters shows Clinton with slims leads over Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush. Ben Carson and Marco Rubio edge Clinton in the hypothetical match-ups.
This latest CNN poll, obviously, is a snapshot of the current standings in the Presidential race. More interesting is the dramatic drop in Clinton’s support over the fall. In some cases, she has lost more than 20 points relative to her Republican challengers.
With the economy showing new signs of weakness, increased uncertainty in world affairs and a new terrorist attack on America’s shores, the campaign isn’t likely to get better for Clinton.
In the latest poll, Clinton leads Donald Trump by 3 points 49-46, within the poll’s margin of error. At the end of June, however, Clinton led Trump by 24 points, 59-35. Marco Rubio leads Clinton by one point, in the poll released Friday, 48-49. At the end of June, though, Clinton led Rubio by 16 points, 56-40.
Clinton has lost 21 points relative to Ted Cruz. She has lost 11 points against Jeb Bush. She has also lost ground against all Republicans even among adults, not just registered voters. Polls of adults tend to favor Democrats by several points, as Democrat-aligned adults are less likely to be registered.
The overall CNN poll itself has a slight advantage for Democrats, as it polls registered voters as opposed to likely voters. Republicans generally poll better among those most likely to vote.
The poll also reveals a few demographic groups where Clinton is particularly weak. She loses Independents to every potential GOP challenger. She loses male voters by around 10 points against all Republicans. She loses white voters by at least 20 points against any Republican.
Clinton’s biggest lead among women voters is 15 points, which is just a little higher than Obama’s margin with women voters. She is polling worse than Obama with both male voters and minorities.
Hillary Clinton has not yet been the full focus of Republican campaigns. The Republicans are locked in their own highly competitive nomination fight. Clinton, though, has still suffered a significant erosion in her support.
Despite the acrimony in the Republican race, Clinton is running even or slightly behind her potential rivals. She looks to have a long general election slog ahead of her.
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