Zeleny: ‘The Sanders Surge Is Real’; Poll Shows Clinton Below 50% for the First Time

‘Since July Clinton has fallen 9 points, while Sanders has climbed at 10 points’

CUOMO: “Hillary Clinton has strong numbers but she now has a race on her hands. Both against Democrats and GOP rivals. For the first time in the race, support for the Democratic front-runner falls below 50 percent in the new CNN/ORC poll out just this morning. Questions about her e-mail use and her trustworthiness are clearly weighing on her numbers.”

CAMEROTA: “Also for the first time, the Republican front-runner Donald Trump poses a serious threat to Clinton. The new numbers show the Donald, is within striking distance of the Democratic front-runner. CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny is here to break it all down for us. Tell us about these new polls.

ZELENY: “Good morning, Alisyn. Within striking distance indeed, I mean, for weeks now Democrats have been watching Donald Trump surge with a smile. But our new poll shows a new reason for Democrats, to take his candidacy more seriously. Let’s take a look at these numbers. Clinton is now leading Donald Trump by only six points. This is a dramatic tightening since July. When there was a 16 point gap. And June when the spread was 24 points. The reason is this, his standing has increased among Republicans, Republican leading independents and white voters. Now, among Democrats, Clinton is still driving this race, leading Bernie Sanders by 18 points. But our poll shows reverse trend lines for Clinton and Sanders. Take a look at this, since July; Clinton has fallen 9 points while Sanders has climbed 10 points. This is the first poll that has Clinton just under 50 percent. So the Sanders surge is real, climbing from 19 points back in July to 29 points now. Now the idea of Vice President Joe Biden jumping into this presidential campaign is very real in the minds of a majority of democrats. Take a look at this, 53percent of Democratic voters say Biden should launch a presidential candidacy, while 45 percent say no. He is strongly considering it. And I’m told by aides will make his decision within the next month. Even Clinton supporters say, they want Biden in, a sign they are hungry for a competitive race and they may want to hedge their bets. Now hanging over all of this is this; positive impressions of Clinton continue to fade. Our new poll shows 44 percent hold a favorable view of her while 53 percent have an unfavorable one. This is essentially reversed since she announced her candidacy back in March, which explains why the Clinton campaign has up with a brand new ad this morning in New Hampshire and Iowa, those two key early voting states. She is talking about her pledge to reshuffle the debt for every day Americans. She’s talking about her childhood, showing those black and white pictures there, and the desire to build an economy ‘so being middle class means something again’. All part of her introduction here, her reintroduction of voters and trying to focus this on her economic message. But this campaign is becoming increasingly competitive again.”

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