CNN poll shows Trump inching ahead of Clinton
Despite Trump erasing 8-point deficit according to new survey, most Americans still think Clinton will be the next president
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
A CNN poll published Tuesday gave Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a two-point lead over his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton, although most voters still think Clinton will win the race to the White House.
Among likely voters, Trump scored 45 percent to Clinton’s 43%, with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson taking 7% and the Green Party’s Jill Stein trailing with just 2%.
The result shows business mogul Trump has eroded Clinton’s lead, which had been up to eight points in a similar poll in early August.
CNN said the change comes from gains among voters made by Trump rather than a drop in support for Clinton.
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.
On issues, Trump was seen as the better of the two on dealing with the economy (56% to 41%) and also in handling terrorism (51% to 45%).
Clinton had more public trust on foreign policy (56% to 40%) and on immigration (49% to 47%).
Overall, Trump was seen as more honest and trustworthy (50%) than Clinton (35%) and also the stronger leader (50% to 42%).
However, Clinton was seen as having a “better temperament to serve as president” (56% to 36%) and also “better able to handle the responsibilities of commander in chief (50% to 35%).
The telephone survey, conducted between September 1-4 among a random sample of 1,001 adults, included 886 registered voters and 786 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 points. The full results of the poll were made available online.
The poll revealed clear divisions among voters based on sex, age, and ethnicity.
Most women said they would choose Clinton (53%) rather than Trump (38%) while the reverse was found to be true among men, 54% of whom said they back Trump, with 32% choosing Clinton.
The figures for men were consistent for both married and unmarried poll participants, while unmarried women (73%) were more likely to vote Clinton than married (36%).
Nearly twice as many voters below the age of 45 showed their support for Clinton (54%) than for Trump (29%). The trend reversed for over 45-year-old voters with 54% backing Trump and 39% for Clinton.
White voters tended to back Trump (55%) rather than Clinton (34%). Non-white voters showed overwhelming support for Clinton (71%) with less than a fifth choosing Trump (18%).
As the first presidential debate scheduled for September 26 approaches, neither of the two independents are polling within range of the 15% threshold set by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
