Ohio voters prefer GOP nominee by 5 points, while billionaire businessman leads in Florida by 3%, according to CNN, Bloomberg surveys
A series of new polls published Wednesday show Republican nominee Donald Trump leading over Hillary Clinton in two key battleground states, in a reversal of recent weeks and especially last month when the Democratic nominee was comfortably ahead.
A CNN/ORC poll, conducted September 7 through 12, found that Trump scored 46 percent of the vote in Ohio and 47% in Florida, with Clinton garnering just 41% and 44%, respectively. Libertarian Gary Johnson had 8% of the vote in Ohio and 6% in Florida. Green Party nominee Jill Stein had 2% and 1%, respectively.
The survey in Ohio was conducted with a random sample of 1,006 adults, including 769 likely voters; in Florida, 1,033 adults were selected randomly for the poll, with 788 of them likely voters. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
A Bloomberg poll in Ohio published Wednesday had Trump leading by five points. In that survey, 48 percent were behind Trump while 43 percent preferred Clinton in a two-way contest; the numbers changed to 44 percent and 39 percent, respectively, when third-party candidates are included.
That poll was conducted September 9 through 12 among 1,138 adults, with 802 likely voters. The margin of error for the survey was also 3.5 percentage points.
Trump’s lead in Florida and Ohio in these polls comes amid backlash Clinton has faced for calling some of Trump’s supporters “a basket of deplorables” — a remark for which she has since apologized — and renewed concerns about her health following Sunday’s incident when she was seen stumbling into her convoy as she left a 9/11 memorial in New York after feeling unwell. Her doctor said she was suffering from a bout of pneumonia.
Last week, a CNN poll gave Trump a two-point lead over Clinton in national elections, although most voters still thought Clinton would win the race.
Among likely voters, Trump scored 45 percent to Clinton’s 43%, with Johnson taking 7% and Stein trailing with just 2%.
The result was the first indication that Trump has started eroding Clinton’s lead, which had been up to eight points in a similar poll in early August.
However, when asked to predict the outcome of the November 8 election, most voters think Clinton will win.
Some 59% said they think Clinton will be the next president, and just 34% expect Trump to emerge victorious.
Both of the candidates have strong support within their own parties with 92% of Democrats backing Clinton and 90% of Republicans saying they are behind Trump.
Among independents, Trump has more sway with 49% and Clinton getting just 29% and the rest backing Johnson or Stein.
As reported by The Times of Israel