The first general election poll after Hillary Clinton pretty much cemented her status as the Democratic nominee — while Donald Trump drew negative attention for his remarks against the judge in his Trump University lawsuit — shows Clinton with a 12-point lead over her opponent. Additionally, another poll shows that she is eating into Trump’s lead on white voters and men.
The first poll, conducted by Bloomberg, found that 49 percent of likely voters would go with Clinton in November, while 37 percent would go with Trump. In previous surveys done in May and June the margin between the two was smaller. Clinton’s strong lead is likely because Trump’s comments against Judge Gonzalo Curiel rankled so many people. Clinton winning big in the last several primary contests also helped her polling performance, as a polling official said:
“Clinton has a number of advantages in this poll, in addition to her lead,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer, who oversaw the survey. “Her supporters are more enthusiastic than Trump’s and more voters overall see her becoming a more appealing candidate than say that for Trump.”
To that end, 55 percent of likely voters said that they could never vote for Trump, compared to 43 percent who could never vote for Clinton. 63 percent of women said they couldn’t choose Trump, and 55 percent of Bernie Sanders supporters are now supporting Clinton. It’s not all bad news for Trump, however. 45 percent of likely voters said that he could prevent another shooting like in Orlando, versus 41 percent for Clinton.
An NBC News/Survey Monkey poll shows Clinton with a seven-point lead over Trump among voters. And while can still count on his traditional base of white and male voters, Clinton is doing better among both groups:
Trump’s margin among male voters dropped from 14 points last week to 9 points this week and he now leads Clinton 51 percent to 42 percent. His 13-point margin among white voters last week also shrank to 9 points this week. White voters now favor Trump to Clinton 50 percent to 41 percent.
It’s still early in the general election race, though, so take these polls with a grain of salt. Who knows what even next week could look like for either Trump or Clinton or both? There could be major developments when it comes to issues that have impacted this race, like ISIS or gun violence, or the baggage that the candidates themselves bring, such as Clinton’s use of a private email server, and Trump’s incendiary comments against Latinos and Muslims. One thing’s for sure: it’s a long road to November.