This might be the most brutal poll yet for Hillary Clinton
The latest survey, from CNN/ORC, shows the Democratic presidential front-runner's lead over her primary rivals dwindling. And Clinton has also seen her advantage against potential Republican challengers evaporate.
In the Democratic presidential primary, Clinton leads with 37% of the vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who is running as a Democrat, grabs 27% of the vote. And Vice President Joe Biden, who is weighing a run, gets 20%.
Clinton's support is down 10 points from last month and a whopping 19 points from July, when 56% of likely Democratic primary voters said she was their top choice.
Sanders' support is virtually unchanged from a month ago - but Biden jumped about 6 points in the poll compared to August's survey.
Clinton also is faring more poorly against her theoretical general-election opponents, continuing a trend that has developed over the last several weeks. A look:
- Clinton trails former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) 49-47 among registered voters. On the other hand, Bush trails Biden by 8 points.
- Clinton and Republican real-estate magnate Donald Trump are tied among registered voters, each grabbing 48% of the vote. Biden would beat Trump by 10 points if the election were held today, the poll shows.
- Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a Republican, leads Clinton by 5 points among registered voters. Biden trails Carson by 3 points.
A concerning development for Clinton is her deteriorating strength among female voters. Her advantage against Republicans among women has virtually disappeared - save for the potential matchup against Trump.
Bush and Clinton, for example, are essentially tied among female registered voters. And Clinton only leads Carson by 3 points among women, while Carson has an outsize advantage (14 points) with men.
And her near-universal support among Democratic women is also sliding. Clinton remains the first choice of 41% of Democratic women, but that's down 11 points from just last month, according to the poll.
Some good news for Clinton in the poll: Most Democrats still expect her to be the party's nominee next November. Overall, 55% of Democratic primary voters think she's most likely to win the nomination, even if she may not be some of those voters' first choice right now.
But even that comes with a couple of caveats. In July, 75% of Democrats said they presumed she would be the nominee. And the poll notes a reminder that in October 2007, 64% of Democrats expected she would be the party's 2008 nominee. That nomination, of course, went to then-Sen. Barack Obama.