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Poll: Clinton leads Trump by 9 in Florida
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Buoyed by support among white women and the state’s growing and diverse population, Hillary Clinton has opened up a startling nine-point lead over Donald Trump among likely voters in the contentious and historically battleground state of Florida, according to the results of a Monmouth University survey out Tuesday.
The Democratic nominee surged to 48 percent in a general election matchup with Trump, who took just 39 percent in a state where he makes his second home at Mar-a-Lago. Another 6 percent said they will vote for Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, while 1 percent chose the Green Party’s Jill Stein and 5 percent said they were undecided among those candidates. In the POLITICO Battleground States Polling Average, Clinton now leads by more than five points—46.2 percent to 41 percent.
The former secretary of state holds the support of 92 percent of self-identified Democrats in the poll, while just 4 percent said they are voting for Trump. About 79 percent of self-identified Republicans, meanwhile, said they would support their party’s nominee, while 12 percent said they will vote for Clinton and 5 percent for another candidate. Independents preferred Clinton over Trump 47 percent to 30 percent, with 11 percent going for Johnson and 2 percent for Stein.
Clinton leads Trump by 50 points among Hispanic, black and Asian voters surveyed, groups that collectively make up one-third of the state’s electorate—69 percent to 19 percent for Trump. Among white voters, Trump leads by 14 points—51 percent to 37 percent. But among white women, Clinton leads 49 percent to 39 percent, while Trump holds a larger 40-point edge among white men, 64 percent to 24 percent. Trump leads white voters with (50 percent to 36 percent) and without a college degree (51 percent to 39 percent).
The nearly double-digit topline edge follows a spate of post-convention surveys in swing states showing Clinton growing or maintaining her advantage over the Republican nominee. But in Florida, Clinton’s lead before Tuesday’s poll had not exceeded six points, as Suffolk University’s poll of a slightly larger sample showed earlier this month.Clinton holds narrow three-point leads over Trump on issues related to the economy and jobs (49 percent to 46 percent), as well as the threat of terrorism on American soil (48 percent to 45 percent).
Despite Clinton’s strong nine-point advantage in the state, the public’s general impression of her in Florida is hardly any better than it is of Trump. While 33 percent see Trump favorably to 54 percent who do not, just 36 percent have a positive opinion of Clinton, with 50 percent unfavorable. And despite the Democratic presidential candidate’s significant lead, incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio holds leads of five points and 11 points over his Democratic challengers, Reps. Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson, respectively.
Monmouth University conducted the survey from Aug. 12-15, surveying a random sample of 402 likely voters. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
