CBS News Poll: Clinton Widens Lead Over Trump, Weaknesses Remain For Both Candidates
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- With three weeks to go before the presidential election, a new poll finds weaknesses remain for both candidates as Democrat Hillary Clinton widens her lead over Republican rival Donald Trump.
The new CBS News poll finds that, in a four-way race, Clinton's lead over Trump has widened to nine points nationally.
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According to the poll, 47 percent of likely voters support or lean towards Clinton while 38 percent support Trump. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson gets 8 percent of likely voters, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein receives 3 percent of the vote.
In a two-way match-up, Clinton leads Trump 51 to 40 percent among likely voters, including leaners.
The poll also shows that voters are finding weaknesses in both candidates.
It found that 46 percent of woman voters say Trump doesn't respect women at all, up 15 points since September, and 54 percent of voters say his comments on a 2005 video in which Trump brags about kissing and grabbing women reflect how he feels about women today.
It also found that 40 percent of voters say Trump's comments about making advances toward women make them feel worse about him, though most, 56 percent, say their opinion is unchanged.
Fifty-nine percent also say Trump should publicly release his tax returns.
For Clinton, 64 percent of voters think she says what people want to hear instead of what she believes and 63 percent don't think she's honest.
The poll also found that 52 percent of voters think it's necessary for Clinton to release her Wall Street speeches while 24 percent say the leaks of those speeches make them think worse of her.
With one day left before the final debate showdown, Trump has been campaigning in battleground states, continuing to accuse Democrats and the media of a conspiracy against him at a rally in Wisconsin Monday night.
"Remember, we are competing in a rigged election," he said. "This is a rigged election folks."
Trump is accused of misrepresenting figures to energize his audiences.
"People that have died 10 years ago are still voting, illegal immigrants are voting," he said. "Voter fraud is very, very common."
But Trump's claims of corruption and election fraud are being refuted by many GOP election officials.
"The idea of building a national campaign where you're suggesting that the elections process itself is rigged is an irresponsible comment," said Jon Husted, Ohio's Secretary of State .
Experts say fraud at the polls is actually extremely rare. One Washington Post study found that out of one billion votes cast between 2000 and 2014, there were 31 incidents of voter fraud.
Clinton, meanwhile, has been behind closed doors, prepping for the debate, as the FBI released more documents Monday.
One showed a diplomatic security agent who worked for Clinton at the state department said she "frequently and blatantly disregarded security protocols."
When traveling, she "often refused to ride in the armored limousine with the local U.S. ambassador" preferring to ride with longtime aide, Huma Abedin.
And according to FBI interviews, Clinton's undersecretary at one point began pushing security officials to unclassify emails about Benghazi as part of an alleged "quid pro quo," CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
The FBI says in the end, no favors were exchanged and the classification level stayed as is.
"Any really assertion that this was somehow tit for tat or quid pro quo or exchange in that manner, really, frankly is insulting," said state department spokesman Mark Toner.
Meanwhile, Trump's campaign has dramatically expanded its ad buys in seven battleground states and announced plans to launch a $2 million advertising blitz in long-shot Virginia.
Clinton's campaign is advancing into states the Democrats haven't won in decades. And more money is being put into Missouri and Indiana, both states with competitive Senate races.
According to one count, Clinton has had just 52 public events since August compared to Trump's 88.
She has no public schedule Tuesday and will be traveling to Las Vegas ahead of the last presidential debate Wednesday. Trump will be campaigning in Colorado.
This poll was conducted by telephone October 12-16, 2016 among a random sample of 1,411 adults nationwide, including 1,189 registered voters. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
