Polling roundup: Trump ahead in battleground states, but Clinton strong nationwide
A new round of polls indicate Donald Trump has a narrow lead over Hillary Clinton in some of the most contested battleground states in the country. Clinton, however, enjoys a comfortable lead in the national race.
Clinton leads Trump nationally by six points, according to a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday. The Democratic nominee currently has 43 percent support nationwide, according to the poll, while Trump has 37 percent.
Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson currently has nine percent support, while the Green Party’s Jill Stein has three percent.
“Donald Trump has closed the margin since August, but as we head towards the debate, still needs to push this campaign closer,” Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the poll with Democrat Fred Yang, said. “The good news for him is the electorate narrowly agrees with him that America has lost ground and wants to see a change in direction.”
In a head-to-head race between Clinton and Trump, the poll finds that the Democrat leads by 7 points, 48 percent to 41 percent. The poll was conducted between Sept. 16-19 among 1,000 registered voters nationwide. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
At the state level, meanwhile, Trump numbers show improvement. A Suffolk University poll released at noon on Thursday showed the Republican leading Clinton in Florida by one point, 46 percent to 45 percent, which signifies a 6-point gain for Trump there since early August. The poll was conducted between Sept. 19-21 among 500 likely voters, and has a 4.4-point margin of error.
However, a Monmouth poll released Wednesday show Clinton up 5 points in the Sunshine State, with 46 percent of likely voters backing the Democrat compared to 41 percent for Trump. The poll was conducted from Sept. 16-19 among 400 likely voters, with a margin of error of 4.9 points.
Fox News also shows Trump up in battleground states. Trump leads by 3 points in Nevada, 43 percent to 40 percent, 5 points in North Carolina, 45 percent to 40 percent, and 5 points in Ohio, 42 percent to 37 percent, the poll finds.
The Fox poll was conducted among 704 likely voters in Nevada, 734 likely voters in North Carolina, and 737 voters in Ohio from Sept. 18-20. The margin of error in all 3 states is 3.5 points.