September 30, 2016 | No Comments
Another post-debate, swing-state poll shows Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump — this time in Nevada, posting a 6-point advantage over the beleaguered GOP nominee.
Clinton leads Trump, 44 percent to 38 percent, in a Suffolk University poll released Friday. The poll, conducted Tuesday-Thursday, also shows Libertarian Gary Johnson at 7 percent, with the remaining 11 percent choosing another minor-party candidate, undecided or the state-specific “none of these candidates” option that appears on the Nevada ballot.
Clinton’s surge in Nevada isn’t yet translating downballot: GOP Rep. Joe Heck still has a slight lead in the state’s closely watched open-seat Senate race, ahead of Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, 38 percent to 35 percent. But there’s still a lot of volatility in the race to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid: More than 27 percent of likely voters chose a minor candidate, were undecided or said they would vote for the “none of these candidates” options.
In the presidential race, white voters tilt toward Trump, 46 percent to 38 percent. But Clinton leads among non-white voters by a wider margin: 54 percent to 24 percent.
While half of likely voters still have an unfavorable impression of Clinton, her favorable rating is nearly 10 points ahead of Trump’s: 45 percent for Clinton, to 36 percent for Trump. Fifty-nine percent of likely voters have an unfavorable opinion of Trump.
Clinton is also viewed as more honest and trustworthy than Trump coming out of the debate this week: 38 percent of likely voters said they think Clinton is honest, compared to only 34 percent for Trump.
And Nevada voters agree with other scientific polls nationally and in the states that Clinton did the better job at this week’s debate: 57 percent of likely voters in the Suffolk poll who watched the debate said Clinton won, compared to 23 percent who picked Trump as the winner.
In the Senate race, Cortez Masto is winning only 69 percent of Clinton voters, compared to Heck’s 77 percent among Trump supporters. Johnson voters tilt toward Heck, 52 percent to 15 percent, with nearly a quarter undecided.
The poll also shows majorities of likely voters in favor of key ballot initiatives: 66 percent say they would vote for a referendum requiring background checks for gun purchasers, and 57 percent favor an initiative that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.
The poll surveyed 500 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.