First Read: Clinton Is Back on the Trail — and Not a Moment Too Soon for Dems

NBC Snooze ^ | 2016-09-15 | CHUCK TODD, MARK MURRAY and CARRIE DANN

[E. Pluribus Unum]

First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

Clinton returns to the trail -- and not a moment too soon for Democrats

After missing three days of campaigning and fundraising to recover from pneumonia, Hillary Clinton is back on the trail. And her return is not a moment too soon for Democrats, with Donald Trump continuing to gain ground in the polls -- if not overtaking her in some key battleground states. The latest national polls still show Clinton leading Trump: Quinnipiac has her up five points among likely voters, while the New York Times/CBS poll has her ahead by just two in a head-to-head matchup. But two polls yesterday (via CNN and Bloomberg) found Trump leading in Ohio, and another survey (via CNN) showed Trump up in Florida. Bottom line: The political winds are currently at Trump's back, and Team Clinton should be worried. The state of the race now puts so much more pressure on the first debate (and less margin for error). A campaign can always overreact to news like this, but you also don't want to underreact.

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... with Donald Trump continuing to gain ground in the polls ...

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