Hillary Clinton Tanking In Latest Gallup Poll

This is not news that will be well received in the Clinton camp. Coming on the heels of her "fundraising loss" to Obama, these poll results will not bolster her image as the Democratic frontrunner.

A majority of Americans have an unfavorable image of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton's current 45% favorable rating with the American public is her third consecutive reading below 50% in the past two months, and is one of the lowest Gallup has measured for her since 1993. The recent decline in her image appears to be broad-based, as it is evident among most key subgroups. Even after her image first showed signs of decline in early March, Clinton managed to maintain a healthy lead in Gallup's trial heat of Democratic preferences for the party's 2008 presidential nomination. However, the new poll shows her lead has shrunk to just five percentage points over Barack Obama.

The thought that a "national primary" that appears to be gathering would benefit Hillary Clinton, may not be the best thing for the New York Senator. Obama has been gaining steadily, and with a broader fundraising base, Obama may be gaining even more on Clinton.

Clinton's decline is felt sharply in groups she hoped to attract. Young voters (18-29), while not voting as much have lost confidence, where her approval rating has fallen 15 points since beginning of the year. While a mority of women still view Clinton favorably (54%), she has lost seven points in that group. She has lost 11 points among moderates and she suffers from a 12 point dip in unmarried people (a fairly substantial segment of her target populace) and 11 points among unmarried women.

But the decline is also sharply felt in voters age 18-49. Among men, she has lost 12 points and among women in that age cohort, 10 points.

Gallup sums it up well.

What is immediately clear from the table is how broad-based the more negative views of Clinton are. Each group analyzed shows a decline in favorable ratings of Clinton compared with earlier this year. This includes groups that have generally very positive views of Clinton, such as Democrats, liberals, blacks, women, young adults, unmarried adults, and those living in low-income households -- as well as those who typically view Clinton negatively, like Republicans, conservatives, and frequent churchgoers.

Now some of this is likely a reaction to Obama getting more attention. But Obama has not been harshly negative on Clinton, so it is not his campaign that is generating the negative buzz.

While I don't have my finger on the pulse of the Democratic voting public, I think part of the decline may be related to Clinton's failure to really connect with her core constituency, who see her as a little to condescending and a little too detached from their lot. Some may also just be the baloon deflating as people are paying attention a little more to who she is and what she stands for. If you look at the graph tracking her favorability over time, during the period of her first Senate race, her negatives picked up as well.

Time will tell if this dip is a blip on the radar or an actual declining trend.