Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton is losing support in the key early state of Iowa as competition in the 2016 presidential race heats up.

A new Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll released on Saturday shows that only 37 percent of Iowa residents are in support of the former secretary of state, according on Business Insider.

DNC hopeful Bernie Sanders is just seven percent lower than Clinton in the polls.

"It looks like what people call the era of inevitability is over," pollster J. Ann Selzer said. "[Clinton] has lost a third of the support that she had in May, so anytime you lose that much that quickly it's a wake-up call."

Clinton started in the race as the most likely candidate to win the presidency. Yet, the former first lady has dropped in polls little by little, with competition from Bernie Sanders on her side, and Donald Trump and others on the GOP side.

The female rights advocate's unfavorable numbers rose by 9 points among Democratic Iowa caucus-goers. Is it time for her to change her strategy?

While Clinton loses supporters, Sanders continues to gain popularity and support. More Iowa caucus-goers say he would be their first choice than those who said so in June. Clinton's numbers have been dropping since May.

At the beginning of the race, Sanders had only managed to get single-digit support from voters, Reuters notes.

Speculation is that Clinton's email scandal may have contributed to her downfall in recent polls.

"No one is above the law... She believes certain laws only apply to her," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is also a GOP candidate.

Back in 2008, Clinton came in third in Iowa and lost the DNC ticket to then Senator Barack Obama. Will this state be her major setback yet again?

Still, polls are suggesting that the only DNC candidate that stands a chance of beating Clinton is Vice President Joe Biden, should he choose to join the race.

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