Clinton Closing In On Trump In Texas

A new poll shows the Republican stronghold of Texas slipping out of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s hands. Clinton has closed Trump’s lead to within the poll’s margin of error.

A WFAA/TEGNA poll released Oct. 13 polled Texans’ support in a four-way race for president, reports Business Insider. Trump leads with 47 percent support in the state. Clinton holds 43 percent support. Third-party candidates Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein both come in with under 5 percent support each. The poll’s margin of error is 4 percentage points — the same as Trump’s lead.

“I think to put these numbers in context — it shows that Trump’s position has eroded a little bit,” Matthew Wilson, associate professor of political science at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, told WFAA. “His lead is down to 4 percentage points according to this poll, but even in the wake of some really terrible news for him, he still leads in Texas, which shows what a tough nut Texas is to crack for Democratic candidates right now.”

The WFAA poll was conducted Oct. 10-12, following a major developing scandal for the candidate. Two polls conducted earlier in October show Trump holding a larger lead, according to FiveThirtyEight.

A Google Consumer Surveys poll, conducted Oct. 4-9 shows Trump leading Clinton by a margin of 8 percentage points: 40 percent support to 32 percent. A CVOTER International poll, conducted Oct. 2-9, shows Trump leading by 12 percentage points: 53 percent to 41 percent.

“It pretty consistently shows that Trump is struggling in Texas more than a Republican typically would,” Wilson said. “He’s still highly likely to win the state in the end but we typically see double-digit margins for Republican candidates and Trump seems unlikely to produce that.”

Sources: WFAA, FiveThirtyEight / Photo credit: Allison V. Smith/Texas Tribune