NBC Poll: Clinton Holds Biggest Lead Over Trump Yet

Hillary Clinton now holds her largest margin in the polls over Donald Trump since the end of the primary races. Clinton is enjoying a bump following the Democratic National Convention, while the Trump is trying to recover after two weeks of a rocky campaign.

According to the NBC News/SurveyMonkey weekly tracking poll, Clinton saw her eight-point lead over Trump for the week of July 25-31, rise to a double-digit (10-point) lead for the week of August 1-7.

The polling plays into a prediction made in 2015 by political scientist Nathan Gonzales, reports the Washington Post.

Gonzales tallied up electoral college votes that are either “safe” or “in favor” of the Democratic Party, and found that Clinton has a 217 electoral vote handicap heading into the November election. To refresh, a candidate only needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

“Over the last two presidential elections, Democrats expanded their advantages among some key constituencies, including Hispanic voters and younger voters,” Gonzales wrote in 2015. “But, it’s unclear whether those are data points along a semi-permanent trend toward the Democratic Party or whether the party’s gains are the result of Barack Obama’s unique appeal.”

On August 4, Larry Sabato, of the Unviersity of Virginia’s Center for Politics, appeared on Fox News to deliver much the same message, reports Mediaite.

Sabato forecasted the electoral college giving 347 votes to Clinton and 191 to Trump. He noted that Clinton would not technically have a landslide victory, but “a very healthy win”.

“It’s early August — lots of things happen,” Sabato added. “But Donald Trump has got to make lots of things happen.” Sabato concluded that Trump’s two best bets for winning are the economy, “which he should be talking about morning, noon, and night,” and terrorism. “Those are the two things that can elect him.”

Sources: NBC News, Washington Post, Mediaite / Photo Credit: Hillary Clinton / Instagram