Clinton Now Leading Trump In Arizona

If the 2016 presidential election is full of unexpected turns, a new poll shows that Arizona, which is historically a deep red state, may be offering the latest. The poll shows Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton pulling a small, but growing, lead over Republican rival Donald Trump.

In September, the Arizona Republic endorsed Clinton for president — it is the first time they have endorsed a Democrat since beginning publication in 1890.

An Arizona Republican/Morrison/Cronkite poll released Oct. 19 shows that Clinton has about a 5 percentage-point lead over Trump.

Clinton is supported by 39 percent of likely Arizona voters, while Trump has 33.9 percent support. A remaining 20.7 percent have not yet decided. If Clinton wins Arizona’s 11 electoral votes, she will be the first Democrat to do so since the state re-elected her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in 1996. Before that, President Harry Truman in 1948 was the last Democrat chosen by the state.

“At some point, those undecideds don’t show up,” said Jennifer Duffy, a political analyst with the Cook Political Report, notes The Arizona Republic. “Or, if they show up — because I assume a decent number of those are, frankly, Republicans — and if they do show up, they skip the top.”

But Tom Mellinger, a Trump supporter from Prescott, Arizona, does not believe the poll’s results.

“The polling is a lie,” Mellinger began. “It’s all false. We’re all Republican up here and we’re all voting for Trump. The rest of the country, I don’t know what the heck is going on. … There’s so much false stuff coming out of the media.”

“Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and deeply disrespectful remarks about [Arizona] Sen. John McCain have made Arizona more competitive,” said Robby Mook, campaign manager for Clinton, in a conference call, reports the Los Angeles Times. “This is a state that would really foreclose a path for Donald Trump to win the White House.”

Sources: The Arizona Republic (2), Los Angeles Times / Photo credit: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News via The Arizona Republic