Clinton's lead over Trump shrinks in swing state polls
Eliza Collins, USA TODAY 3:51 p.m. EDT September 8, 2016
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are pictured. (Photo: AP)
The race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in some battleground states is tightening, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released Thursday.
The polls found that in a one-on-one matchup in Florida, Clinton and Trump are tied with 47% support each among likely voters. When third-party candidates are added into the mix, Clinton and Trump are still tied, this time at 43%. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson had 8% support and Green Party candidate Jill Stein had 2% backing.
Clinton did have a 4-point lead in North Carolina in a one-on-one match-up, 47%-43%. That lead remained the same when third-party candidates were added, 42%-38%. Johnson had 15% in North Carolina; Stein is not on the ballot in the state.
Ohio voters are also basically evenly divided between Trump and Clinton in a one-on-one matchup, 46%-45%, but when third-party candidates are added, Trump has a 4-point lead 41% to 37%. Johnson had 14% support and Stein came in with 4%.
Clinton is ahead of Trump by 5 points in Pennsylvania. That lead remains in a four-way race with Clinton at 44% support, Trump at 39%. In that race, Johnson had 9% and Stein had 3%.
In August one-on-one match-ups Clinton was ahead by 1-point in Florida (within the margin of error), 4 points in Ohio and 10 points in Pennsylvania. Those leads have diminished over the last month. North Carolina polls were not released in that same August batch.
The polls out Thursday were conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 7. In Florida, 761 likely voters were surveyed. That poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 points. There were 751 likely voters polled in North Carolina, with a margin of error of 3.6 points. Seven-hundred and seventy-five likely voters in Ohio were polled with a margin of error of 3.5 points. Pennsylvania polling of 778 likely voters also had a 3.5-point margin of error. |
