The Clinton campaign keeps getting stronger and stronger. This afternoon's CNN poll gives her a whopping 30-percentage-point lead over Barack Obama, and for the first time, she's cleared the 50% mark. A majority of Democrats want Hillary to be their nominee.
According to CNN, this is where the race stands as it enters the final stretch:
Hillary Clinton: 51%
Barack Obama: 21%
John Edwards: 15%
Bill Richardson: 4%
Joe Biden: 1%
Chris Dodd: 1%
Mike Gravel: 1%
Dennis Kucinich: 1%
CNN states:
On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York continues to gain support and build on her lead. She led Sen. Barack Obama by 23 points last month -- 46 percent to 23 percent. She now leads the Illinois senator by 30 points -- 51 percent to 21 percent.
A majority of Democrats favor Clinton, whereas fewer than a third of Republicans favor their front-runner, Giuliani.
Now that Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize, there doesn't appear to be a surge of support for him to make a run. Gore came in third among Democrats, at 14 percent -- about the same as last month -- when included in the poll as a potential candidate.
Expectations are building fast. Nearly two-thirds, or 64 percent, of those polled expect Clinton to be the Democratic nomination. That's four times more than those who expect Obama to be the nominee.
And who do voters expect to win the election? Clinton was chosen by 45 percent. Only 16 percent expect Giuliani to get elected. Nobody else gets more than 10 percent.
Now it's Clinton who faces great expectations. Here's one reason: Asked if they would vote for the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate for president, voters prefer the Democrat by 13 points.
What makes Hillary's lead so stunning is the fact that it comes against one of the most accomplished and deep fields of Democratic candidates in history. John Edwards nearly won the nomination in 2004 and took the VP slot; the telegenic Barack Obama has raised buckets of cash; Bill Richardson has breadth and depth of experience in both foreign and domestic affairs; and Joe Biden and Chris Dodd are seasoned, accomplished Senators.
Clinton also cleared the 50% mark for the first time in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, released yesterday.
SOURCES:
http://www.cnn.com/...
http://www.usatoday.com/...