Did she get much of a bump after the DNC?
The numbers are finally in regarding the Democratic Convention, specifically viewership, and Hillary Clinton’s bump in the polls. Yes, she did get a bump, but no it wasn’t much of an uptick.
Day 4 of the party conventions is considered the critical evening as this is when the candidate addresses their party and the nation overall as to their vision for America. I discussed the importance of viewership in my June 10th column.
Two things emerged from the Neilsen numbers that caught my attention; first, Mr. Trump beat Mrs. Clinton in the Day 4 war, and; second, the Democrats lost viewership when compared to their last convention in 2012. In terms of the Trump-Clinton contest, Mr. Trump had 34.9 million viewers compared to Mrs. Clinton at 33.7 million. In 2012, 35.7 million people watched Day 4 of the Democratic convention which means their 2016 viewership dropped 9.2%. In contrast, the GOP saw in increase of 15.1% in viewership. This simply means while viewership for the Democratic convention dropped, interest in the GOP convention rose sharply. Obviously, this is bad news for the Democrats.
As to the bump in the polls, which is normally expected following a convention, it depends which poll you believe. According to a CBS poll, Mrs. Clinton surged passed Mr. Trump and now leads him by as much as 46% to 39%. Frankly, I don’t buy this as I believe CBS to be an organ of the Democratic party. In contrast, a new Morning Consult poll shows Mrs. Clinton ahead 43% to 40% which is more believable, yet this is the poll the main street media doesn’t want the public to know about.
The Democrats shouldn’t rejoice quite yet, considering their lackluster Neilsen ratings and the fact they haven’t lost a Day 4 contest in quite some time. Further, the polling is simply too close at this point, and can go either way depending on the remainder of the campaigns and the mood of the country. Should more news surface regarding Mrs. Clinton’s culpability regarding the Clinton Foundation, her ties to Wall Street, or some other act conducted during her term as Secretary of State, she will undoubtedly drop in the polls like a rock. Conversely, a word spoken out of turn by Mr. Trump will cost him dearly as the main street media is waiting to attack him on any verbal indiscretion.
And let us not forget, there is now less than 100 days remaining in this electoral cycle.
Keep the Faith!
