[THEHILL] Allies of Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as
America's Blond Eminenceand at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Dean Acheson...
are growing nervous as the Democratic presidential race with Bernie Sanders
...The only openly Socialist member of the U.S. Senate. Sanders was Representative-for-Life from Vermont until moving to the Senate for the rest of his life in 2006, assuming the seat vacated by Jim Jeffords...
tightens ahead of contests in Nevada and South Carolina.
A new CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday found Clinton with a 1-point lead in Nevada, which hosts its caucuses on Saturday. That's a huge change from the 23-point lead Clinton enjoyed in a late December poll by Gravis.
In South Carolina, which hosts its primary election on Feb. 27, Clinton has a more comfortable 18-point lead according to a CNN/ORC poll. But even that edge has narrowed since Sanders crushed her in New Hampshire's primary last week.
As recently as mid-January, a poll from NBC, The Wall Street Journal and Marist found Clinton with a 33-point lead in South Carolina.
"I don't get it. I don't think anyone expected this race to look like this," said one former Clinton aide who maintains ties with the campaign. "A big loss in New Hampshire, basically a tie going into Nevada. You have to ask yourself, 'What's next?' "
Team Clinton maintains confidence that its lead in South Carolina will hold, but the potential loss in Nevada has put people on edge about a "domino effect" in which states could fall one by one to Sanders as he gains momentum.
"It's hard to feel confident about South Carolina if you lose Nevada," the former aide said.