Hillary Clinton is ahead of Donald Trump in crucial swing states Florida and Pennsylvania going into Sunday night’s presidential debate, two new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls show.
The polls, taken before The Washington Post on Friday published a 2005 video of Trump making crude remarks about women, show a solid lead for the Democratic nominee in Pennsylvania, along with a neck-and-neck one in Florida.
Clinton leads Trump in Pennsylvania by 12 points among likely voters, 49% to 37%. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson had 6% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein had 4%. The polls show Clinton also held her 12-point lead in a two-way contest with the Republican nominee.
The tighter race in Florida showed Clinton edging Trump 45% to 42% among likely voters, with Johnson at 5% and Stein at 3%. That three-point lead was within the poll’s margin of error.
The Florida poll finished before Hurricane Matthew hit the state.
Trump has seen tremendous political fallout since the video, taped by NBC’s “Access Hollywood,” was released. Several Republican Party members, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, have pulled their support of Trump entirely.
Vice presidential nominee Mike Pence did not disavow his running mate but canceled a campaign appearance this weekend and said he “cannot defend” Trump’s remarks.
The NBC/WSJ/Marist poll Florida poll surveyed 700 likely voters between October 3-5 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
The Pennsylvania poll surveyed 709 likely voters between October 3-6 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
