Presidential candidates travel the country courting voters

As GOP candidates prepare for the second Republican debate on Wednesday, Democratic candidates saw a recent shift in the polls that could spell trouble for frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Billionaire Donald Trump is leading the polls and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report said other Republican candidates need to focus on more than just criticizing the notorious candidate if they hope to overtake him.

“It’s not just about pushing back against Trump. It’s showing who they are, why they want to be president,” said Walter.

Walters looks forward to seeing how business woman Carly Fiorina does when she takes the stage with other top Republican candidates. Fiorina’s poll numbers rose in recent weeks, particularly after an ad run in response to comments made about her appearance by Trump.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders made an unusual move this week when he visited Liberty University, a conservative Christian school in Virginia. Sanders opened his speech by pointing out the political differences between where he stands on many issues and the beliefs of Liberty students, but tried to find common ground in the moral issue of income inequality in the United States.

“We have seen a proliferation of millionaires and billionaires, while at the same time the United States of America has the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on Earth,” Sanders said.

Although not unheard of for candidates to address crowds on the opposite end of their political spectrum, Walter said Sanders’ willingness to “go into the lion’s den” highlighted the authenticity that many voters find so appealing.

Meanwhile, recent polls show Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton’s 71 percent approval among Democratic women dropped to 42 percent in the past eight weeks. Clinton’s campaign has set out to focus more energy on securing female votes.