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Poll: Clinton holds double-digit lead over Trump in Va.

Posted at 7:02 AM, Oct 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-21 07:02:06-04

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — If the 2016 Presidential Election were held today, Hillary Clinton would beat Donald Trump by double-digit, according to a newly-released poll from the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

The poll showed Clinton held a 12-point lead (45-33 percent) over Trump, among likely Virginia voters.

“While Trump appears to have recovered a little of the support he lost after the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, his reach continues to be no higher than the mid-30s,” Dr. Quentin Kidd, Director of the Wason Center, said. “That ceiling is far too low to win, especially as Clinton’s share continues to rise.”

The survey on which the poll was based was conducted before this week’s third and final presidential debate. It has an overall margin of error of +/- 3.9 %.

Clinton is showing gains among independents voters where the poll found her support was 44 percent, compared to 21 percent in September. Most of those votes came from people who earlier said they might vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson, the poll found.

While Trump leads Clinton 51-30. in rural South/Southwest Virginia, Clinton leads Trump 57-21 percent in Northern Virginia.

“Clinton’s continued rise in Northern Virginia tells the larger story of political change in Virginia,” Dr. Rachel Bitecofer, Assistant Director of the Wason Center, said. “Bluer and bluer voters in suburban Washington, and their like in Richmond and Hampton Roads, far outweigh rural voters’ preference for Trump.”

The Wason Center will release two more tracking polls prior to Election Day.