Democrats urge Clinton to offer better explanation of emails

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton is facing fresh worries among elected Democrats about her use of a private email account while serving as secretary of state, as new polls signal that the inquiry is taking a toll on her presidential campaign.

The Democratic front-runner's campaign has taken steps to defend her against allegations she may have put classified information at risk by using a private email account and server, arguing she never sent or received material considered classified at the time.

Democratic lawmakers said Clinton's campaign has not adequately explained the complicated nature of the email review and panned some of her attempts to use humor to talk about the probe.

Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown compared the controversy to a "vampire" in an interview Friday with NBC News' "Meet the Press," saying it has "some kind of dark energy that gets everybody excited."

While Clinton holds significant advantages in money and support among Democrats, polls released Thursday by Quinnipiac University in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania — three general election battleground states — found that only about one-third of respondents thought she was honest and trustworthy.

While those in the Democratic field have largely steered clear of the email review, O'Malley said Wednesday in Las Vegas that Clinton's email practices had become a "huge distraction" from what Democrats should be talking about and said it showed the need for more televised debates.

"[...] we do, our party's label is going to be the latest news du jour about emails and email servers and what Secretary Clinton knew and when she knew it," O'Malley said.