Democrats troubled by Clinton’s weakened poll numbers

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a memorial service to honor those killed In Chattanooga shooting at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena on August 15, 2015 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton dropped from 55 to 45 percent in less than a month, according to a Quinnipiac University poll, which shows Vice President Joe Biden outperforming the former secretary of state in head-to-head match-ups against top Republicans. less U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a memorial service to honor those killed In Chattanooga shooting at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena on August 15, 2015 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. ... more Photo: Jason Davis / Getty Images Photo: Jason Davis / Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Democrats troubled by Clinton’s weakened poll numbers 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Cause for anxiety among Democrats in the state, Hillary Clinton’s presidential poll numbers have sagged further under the weight of an ongoing probe into her use of private email as secretary of state.

So much that Sen. Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden, who is flirting with a 2016 White House run, reached their own high-water mark in an Aug. 27 Quinnipiac University poll.

Clinton dropped from 55 percent to 45 percent in less than a month, according to the poll, which shows Biden outperforming the former first lady in head-to-head match-ups against top Republicans and Sanders up to 22 percent.

The word most associated with Clinton in response to an open-ended question by the Hamden-based poll service: “liar.”

“It’s the death by a thousand cuts,” said Audrey Blondin, a Democratic State Central Committee member from Litchfield and Sanders organizer. “We don’t need those distractions that happen.”

Blondin, who supported Clinton’s 2008 presidential candidacy, said Clinton’s use of civilian email for sensitive communications, some of which were latter flagged as classified, defies all logic.

“You don’t mix up your daughter’s wedding with Libya,” Blondin said. “I feel her pain as far as maybe not being as computer literate or as computer sophisticated (being) in our 60s as perhaps someone younger would be. But that isn’t an excuse. If you have a sensitive government position, common sense says you don’t co-mingle your personal email with your work email.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a Yale Law School classmate of Clinton and promoter of her candidacy, defended Clinton in light of the latest poll results.

“I take her at her word that none of the information in her emails was marked as classified when she was transmitting it,” Blumenthal said. “But unquestionably, it was an error in judgment, and she seems to have acknowledged it. With the legality aside, her acknowledging that she, in effect, made a mistake is important and, in the long run, it will matter a lot less than jobs, the economy, education, health care and an agenda for the future.”

Clinton would beat Republicans Donald Trump, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio head-to-head, according to the poll, which was conducted from Aug. 20 to Aug. 25 among 1,563 registered voters nationwide. Its margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percent.

But on Clinton’s trustworthiness, 61 percent of respondents had a negative response. Trump was not far behind at 54 percent.

“She still has a commanding lead, but she’s losing ground every time we do a survey,” said Tim Malloy, the poll service’s assistant director. “More concerning is that she doesn’t do well at all when it comes to honesty and trustworthiness.”

State GOP Chairman J.R. Romano said Democrats could be having a case of buyer’s remorse if they nominate Clinton.

“What you’re seeing is the result of scandal after scandal centered around Hillary Clinton, and it’s taking a toll,” Romano said.

ick Balletto, the state Democratic Party chairman, said, “It's very early in the process and polls will go up and down. The one thing that's abundantly clear — from frontrunner Donald Trump's plan to spend $200 billion taxpayer dollars to tear up immigrant families, to Jeb Bush's suggestion that we spend too much on women's health care — is that the extreme right-wing agenda that the Republican candidates are pushing would take this country backwards.”

Trump picked up 8 points in one month in the poll, with retired brain surgeon Dr. Ben Carson at 12 percent and Bush and Marco Rubio both at 7 percent. Trump was at 28 percent, with 26 percent of Republicans saying they would not support him under any circumstances.

“You either love him or you hate him,” Malloy said.

neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy