The FINANCIAL — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are in a virtual tie one week after their first debate.
The latest Rasmussen Reports White House Watch national telephone and online survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows Clinton with 42% support and Trump with 41%. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson has inched back up to match his high of nine percent (9%), while Green Party nominee Jill Stein remains in last place with two percent (2%). Another two percent (2%) like some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided.
Yesterday, it was Clinton 43%, Trump 40%. Factoring in our +/- 2.5 margin of error, both candidates continue to hover around the 40% mark as they have for weeks now, looking for a breakaway moment to put some distance between them and their opponent. Some saw Clinton’s debate performance as that moment, and it did move her slightly ahead after trailing by five points the week before. But the race appears to be tightening again.
Eighty-three percent (83%) of voters now say they are certain how they will vote, and Clinton has a statistically insignificant 48% to 47% lead among this group. Among the voters who still may change their minds, it’s Trump 31%, Clinton 27%, Johnson 32% and Stein 10%.
The vice presidential candidates debate this evening, and we’ll tell you at 10:30 a.m. today how important voters consider that clash.
Among voters who support Clinton, 21% say their political opinions are influenced by friends and family on social media like Facebook and Twitter. That compares to only 12% of Trump supporters.
Trump earns 76% of the Republican vote and has a six-point lead among voters not affiliated with either major party. Clinton has a comparable 77% level of support among Democrats. Johnson gets seven percent (7%) of the GOP vote, five percent (5%) of Democrats and 15% of unaffiliateds. Stein remains in low single digits in all three groups.
Twenty-two percent (22%) of unaffiliated voters say they still could change their minds, compared to 16% of Republicans and 11% of Democrats.
Voters under 40 are less likely than their elders to be certain of their vote with just over a month until Election Day. Younger voters continue to prefer Clinton, while those 40 and over lean toward Trump.
The GOP nominee leads by six among men and trails by six among women. He’s ahead among whites and other minority voters but remains far behind among blacks.
Just 29% of all voters think the country is headed in the right direction.
Forty-nine percent (49%) approved of President Obama’s job performance in September; 50% disapproved.
Trump reportedly claimed $1 billion in losses on his taxes in 1995, cancelling out years of income tax payments. Democrats say he’s a tax shirker; Republicans say he was a business genius. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of all voters think presidential candidates should release at least their most recent tax returns to the public.
Voters think taxes and government spending will increase under a Clinton presidency. They’re less certain what will happen if Trump is elected.
Most voters believe news organizations play favorites when it comes to fact-checking candidates’ statements, but this skepticism is much stronger among voters who support Trump than those who back Clinton.
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