The poll conducted September 8-15 contrasts sharply with other national surveys showing Johnson lagging sharply behind Trump and Clinton. Many recent polls have shown a narrow race, and the upcoming debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., is expected to have a Super Bowl-sized audience.
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“Well, I just wanted to get on with, you know, we want to get on with the campaign”, the GOP nominee responded.
Clinton has regained some momentum after Trump held a slim lead for 10 days, including when the Democratic nominee disclosed a pneumonia diagnosis and didn’t have public appearances for three days.
Whilst Obama won the state in both 2008 and 2012, voters seem to have switched allegiance over to the Republican candidate: preferring him to Clinton by a three per cent margin. The combination of the also-rans’ expected absence from the debates, which only admit candidates averaging at least 15% in the polls, and the growing plausibility of a Trump presidency could drive Stein supporters anxious about her playing Ralph Nader to Mrs Clinton’s Al Gore into the Democratic camp.
Trump has had more success staying on message following an August campaign shakeup and he’s given in to his new senior team’s insistence that he stick to a more scripted message during campaign rallies.
Palmieri also told reporters that Clinton receives “much harder questions” than Trump because she has put forward detailed material, while Trump hasn’t. Trump maintained higher levels of backing from the demographic, garnering 46 percent support to Clinton’s 44 percent, but the difference is much narrower than in earlier polls.
For his part, Trump has begun taking baby steps toward becoming a slightly more traditional candidate, reading off teleprompters, rolling out policy proposals and making overtures to minorities – creating even more uncertainty among Democrats about how he’ll act on the debate stage. Clinton has favored the path, while Trump said they should leave the country and attempt to reenter legally.
In late August, 41 percent were comfortable with Clinton and 57 percent were uncomfortable, with 45 percent very uncomfortable. Trump’s rating is flatter and still highly unfavorable. Elsewhere, 48 percent of Democrats said they’d prefer Bernie Sanders as nominee versus 43 percent who say they prefer Hillary – but among Republicans, fully 68 percent (!) say they’d prefer someone else at the top of the ticket. Of them, 1,203 identified themselves as likely voters. He needs a string of reassuring debates and/or a new Clinton scandal to convince the nose-holders that he’s the lesser of two evils, not her.
Donald Trump’s support isn’t growing. The survey was taken AFTER Clinton’s health controversy.
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Hoping to calm some supporters’ concerns, Clinton’s campaign sent out a memo Monday, reminding them that the electoral map favours Democrats.
