Clinton Holds Double-Digit Lead In Pennsylvania Poll

Hillary Clinton has made major gains with white women voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and now has 10 percent lead over Donald Trump in a new state survey.

The Monmouth University Poll found that Clinton leads Trump among likely voters, with 50 percent saying they will cast their ballots for her in November, 40 percent saying the same of Trump, five percent supporting Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson two percent backing Green Party nominee Jill Stein and two percent undecided. Clinton is up two additional percentage points from a similar survey taken in late August that found her with an eight percent lead, with 48 points to Trump’s 40.

Clinton’s rise in the state is largely due to white voters switching over to her from Trump – they are largely split, currently, with 46 percent backing Clinton and 45 percent backing Trump, but in August, a full 48 percent said they would vote for Trump and only 39 percent said the same of Clinton. Though white men back Trump by 57 percent to Clinton’s 35 percent, compared to 50 percent to 32 percent in the August poll, white women have switched over from being divided by 46 percent for Clinton and 45 percent for Trump in the August poll, to 55 percent to 35 percent, in favor of Clinton.

“Clinton has been blanketing the Pennsylvania airwaves with ads that highlight Trump’s controversial statements, particularly about women,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. “They appear to have had an impact.”

Clinton’s favorability rating has also increased by five percent, up from 36 percent in August to 41 percent, while Trump’s favorability score has dropped from 31 percent to 27 percent during the same time period.

“Connecting with the everyday concerns of voters is one key to winning over Pennsylvania voters,” said Murray. “It looks like Clinton has been gaining the advantage on this metric.”

The Democratic nominee leads national polls by an average of 3.8 points, according to data compiled by Real Clear Politics.

Sources: Monmouth University, Real Clear Politics / Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr