WASHINGTON: For Hillary Rodham Clinton, October is full of opportunity — and risk — for her presidential campaign.

The former secretary of state has spent months watching her poll numbers sink in crucial early voting states and has faced endless questions about her email practices at the State Department.

October brings the first Democratic debate and her congressional testimony before a Republican-led panel investigating the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

Those events will give Clinton a platform to advance her candidacy. They'll also be a platform for opponents to try to weaken her.

Also in October, the full Democratic field will appear at the Iowa Democratic Party's big Jefferson-Jackson dinner. And many are watching to see if Vice President Joe Biden enters the race.