Clinton Leading Trump In Florida

Hillary Clinton has a four-point lead over Donald Trump in polls for the crucial battleground state of Florida.

In an Opinion Savvy/Fox poll, released on Oct. 21, Clinton led Trump with 49 percent to 45 percent in a four-way race, with a one-point increase from the poll taken the week before. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson took in three percent, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein got two percent, with an additional two percent undecided.

Among those who have voted early or absentee, Trump leads by four points, with 51 percent to 47 percent, while Clinton leads by nearly 30 percent among independent voters, with 57 percent to Trump’s 28 percent.

“Hillary Clinton is holding a thin lead in Florida because she is winning the battle for independent voters and holding her lead among women, non-white voters and her Democratic base,” said Peter A. Brown, the assistant director of Quinnipiac University polling, regarding an Oct. 17 survey that also found Clinton ahead by four points in Florida. “Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, considered the alternative to Clinton or Trump, is not catching fire in the Sunshine State.”

Johnson received four percent in that poll.

Quinnipiac also polled three other swing states and found Clinton in the lead in Colorado with 45 points to Trump’s 37, while the pair tied 45-45 in Ohio, and Clinton won Pennsylvania with 47 percent to Trump’s 41 percent.

“Of particular importance are the Clinton leads in Florida and Pennsylvania,” remarked Brown. “Trump probably can’t win if he loses one of them, and he’s toast if he loses both. In addition, Trump’s lead in Ohio, his best big swing state, is now gone.”

According to Brown, Trump supporters began moving to Clinton after the second presidential debate, when polls started shifting more heavily toward the Democrat.

“Obviously the allegations by a number of women about Donald Trump’s behavior have taken a toll among some of those who had been in his column,” said Brown.

Clinton leads in national polls by more than six percent, according to averages compiled by Real Clear Politics.

Sources: Opinion Savvy, Quinnipiac University, Real Clear Politics / Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr