Republican Donald Trump has gained ground on Democrat Hillary Clinton in three battleground states, but neither presidential candidate has locked up their own party’s voters, and Mrs. Clinton is hindered by a lack of support from young voters, according to a new poll released Friday.
The survey by Democracy Corps and the Women Vote Action Fund found that Mr. Trump is leading Mrs. Clinton by two percentage points in Ohio, 41 percent to 39 percent, in a four-way race. They are tied in Nevada, and Mrs. Clinton has a four-point edge in North Carolina, 44 percent to 40 percent.
In Pennsylvania, Mrs. Clinton holds an eight-point advantage, 46 percent to 38 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson’s highest total in any of the four states is 11 percent, in Ohio.
In a survey by Democracy Corps in June, which included only the two major-party candidates, Mrs. Clinton led by 10 points in North Carolina and was tied with Mr. Trump in Ohio.
The polling firm headed by Democrats Stan Greenberg and James Carville concludes that Mrs. Clinton still will win in November because of her “stable support” especially from unmarried women and minorities, and her “inroads with other swing groups.”
“Three-quarters of minorities are voting for Clinton in these battleground states, she is getting 62 percent with unmarried women and is even winning the majority of white unmarried women,” the report said.
Mr. Trump has gained ground partly because of “some consolidation of base Republicans,” while Mrs. Clinton “has lost support to 3rd party candidates in the wake of the campaign’s travails,” the pollsters said.
“Trump continues to earn overwhelming and intense support with white working class men who are making themselves the backbone of the Republican presidential coalition,” the report said. “Over three-quarters of white non-college men say the country is on the wrong track, making them the most pessimistic voters in the country. An equal number are casting a ballot for Trump, as they make disappointment known.”
Mrs. Clinton is getting the support of 87 percent of Democrats, short of the 92 percent President Obama had in the same four states in 2012. She only gets 77 percent of Mr. Obama’s voters.
Among millennials, Mrs. Clinton is only getting 40 percent of the vote. “She is particularly struggling with the white millennials where she is running even with Trump — 33 Clinton to 32 Trump, with 28 percent voting for 3rd party candidates,” the pollsters said.
Mr. Trump has the support of 82 percent of Republicans, but the report said 14 percent of GOP voters “just won’t vote for him.”
“Those holdouts are concentrated among the moderate Republicans where he is getting only 60 percent of the vote,” the report said. “One-quarter are voting for a 3rd party candidate (22 percent for Johnson) and 10 percent are casting ballots for Clinton.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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