Poll: Hillary Clinton Boosts Virginia Lead Over Donald Trump by 14 Points

Support for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has solidified in recent weeks among registered voters in Virginia, with the Democratic nominee opening up a double-digit lead over GOP nominee Donald Trump, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

Clinton leads Trump by a 14-point margin — 52 percent to 38 percent — among registered voters in Virginia and by an eight-point margin among likely voters, 51 percent to 43 percent, the new Washington Post poll finds. Clinton’s advantage over the New York businessman decreases to seven points among likely voters when third-party candidates Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein are added.

Both Clinton and Trump have high unfavorability numbers in the state, but a significant gap between the two may explain Clinton's rise in support.

Clinton is viewed unfavorably by 54 percent of registered voters, and Trump is viewed negatively by 65 percent. According to the poll, 44 percent of registered voters view Clinton favorably and 32 percent say the same of Trump.

However, Tim Kaine, the senator from Virginia and Clinton's running mate who has high favorability numbers, may not have an impact on Clinton's ultimate success in the state.

Kaine drew a net positive favorable rating of 52 percent to 35 percent. Even so, just 26 percent said Clinton's selection of Kaine would make it more likely for them to support the Democratic nominee, while 7 percent said it would make them less likely and a full two-thirds — 66 percent — said it would not make a difference.

For his part, Trump's only advantage comes in the southwest part of Virginia, where he leads Clinton 58 percent to 32 percent.

In recent national polling, Clinton leads head-to-head match-ups against Trump, with the Democrat holding 47.7 percent support compared to 41 percent for the New York businessman, according to averages compiled by RealClear Politics.

A new USA TODAY/Rock the Vote poll released on Sunday night finds that Trump is heading toward the worst showing among younger voters in American history. According to the survey, Clinton leads Trump 56 percent to 20 percent among expected voters under the age of 35.

The Washington Post poll was conducted Aug. 11-14 via landlines and cellphones, surveying 888 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points and 707 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

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