Clinton Leads Trump in PA, the Candidates Are Competitive in FL: Marist Poll

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — Two polls completed before the Trump video revelation from Friday and the Sunday debate show that the major party presidential candidates are competitive in the state of Florida and that Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by double digits in Pennsylvania.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll, released Sunday, was conducted from October 3 to October 6 and included registered and likely voters.

The Marist Poll found that in Florida just three points separate Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, a Chappaqua resident, and Republican candidate Donald J. Trump, who has an estate in Bedford and properties throughout the Hudson Valley.

Clinton came in at 45 percent, with Trump at 42 percent, among likely Florida voters. The Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson got 5 percent, with the Green Party’s Jill Stein at 3 percent.

Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said that without carrying Florida it would be hard to see how Trump can win 270 electoral votes, the number necessary to win the White House.

“Florida has voted for the winner in 12 of the last 13 presidential elections dating back to 1964,” he said.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll found that Clinton’s support is bolstered by the likely voters in Florida who are African-American—83 percent—and Latino—61 percent.

Trump, on the other hand, only has 6 percent of African-American support and 25 percent of Latino support.

In Pennsylvania, another battleground state, Clinton leads Trump by 12 points—49 percent to 37 percent—among likely voters.

Johnson is at 6 percent with Stein at 4 percent.

Miringoff said that, for Clinton, “it’s all about running up the score in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia suburbs.”

“For Donald Trump, he still needs to find a way to break the Democrats’ winning streak in the last six presidential contests in the Keystone State,” he said.

As in Florida, the poll shows Clinton getting the vast majority of African-American likely voters—she’s at 89 percent, with Trump at 5 percent.

White voters in Pennsylvania divide 44-42 with Clinton in the lead, according to the poll.

When education is factored in, Clinton receives 56 percent of likely white voters with a college education and Trump receives 51 percent of white likely voters without a college degree.

For more details on the two NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll findings, including complete date and methodology, go here.

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons