A new CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday finds that public support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has dropped below 50 percent for the first time.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo said that Clinton’s rapid fall from grace indicated that her scandals are "clearly weighing" on her support.
"Questions about her email use and her trustworthiness are clearly weighing on her numbers," Cuomo said.
As Clinton attempts to shrug off questions about her use of an unsecured email server while serving as Secretary of State, rivals like democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) are gaining ground.
"Our polls shows reverse trend lines for Clinton and Sanders. Since July, Clinton has fallen 9 points while Sanders has climbed 10 points," CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny said. "This is the first poll that has Clinton below 50 percent. So the Sanders surge is real."
Real estate mogul Donald Trump, a candidate for the Republican nomination, has also gained ground against Clinton.
"Clinton is now leading Donald Trump by only six points. This is a dramatic tightening since July," Zeleny said.
Clinton’s low favorability rating with the public, a problem that has dogged her campaign for months, is unchanged.
"Positive impressions of Clinton continue to fade," Zeleny said. "Our new poll shows 44 percent hold a favorably view of her, while 53 percent have an unfavorable one. This is essentially reversed since she announced her candidacy back in March."
CNN goes on to report:
Clinton maintains this edge in the general election race despite a growing perception that by using a personal email account and server while serving as secretary of state she did something wrong. About 56% say so in the new poll, up from 51% in March. About 4-in-10 (39%) now say she did not do anything wrong by using personal email. Among Democrats, the share saying she did not do anything wrong has dipped from 71% in March to 63% now, and just 37% of independents say she did not do wrong by using the personal email system.