On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Hillary Clinton's quest to become the country's first female president has encountered an unexpected problem: she is having trouble persuading women, young and old, to rally behind her cause.
The latest sign came Sunday, when a new CNN/WMUR survey here showed Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont beating Clinton among women by eight points - which represents a big shift from the results last week in the Iowa caucuses, where Clinton won women by 11 points.
Clinton's struggles with women underscore the extent to which she has not yet figured out how to harness the history-making potential of her candidacy in the same way that Barack Obama mobilized minorities and white liberals excited about electing the first black president.
Cognizant of the challenge, the Clinton campaign has sought in recent days here to address the problem, tweaking her speeches to put a focus on Clinton as an advocate for women.
Clinton spent part of Friday with a group of female U.S. senators she calls the “sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits.”