Democrat Hillary Clinton got some good news from Pennsylvania today with a Suffolk University public opinion survey showing her up 9 points in the Keystone State over Republican Donald Trump in the presidential election.
In a four –way contest with Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson the mix, Clinton led Trump, 46 to 37 percent. Johnson got 5 percent and Stein was at 3 percent with 9 percent undecided.
Pennsylvania is a swing state that has trended Democratic in recent presidential elections. The state has supported the Democratic presidential candidate in the last six elections, dating to Bill Clinton’s 1992 victory.
Clinton’s margin is fueled by a huge gender gap between men and woman voters. Clinton led Trump among women by 19 points –50 to 31 percent. Yet, she trailed Trump by 3 points among men.
“Hillary Clinton is flirting with 50 thanks to Philly,’’ said David Paeleogos, director of the Suffolk Research Center in Boston. “At this point Clinton’s large lead in the Philadelphia area is offsetting losses to Trump in other parts of the state. She is also amassing the support of women and drowning out Trump’s marginal lead among men.’’
Sixty one percent of Pennsylvania voters said they support Clinton’s call for a ban on assault rifles while 34 percent were opposed and 6 percent were undecided.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was the most popular political leader among those tested in the poll. He was seen favorably by 60 percent of voters. President Obama was viewed favorably by 52 percent of the sample, while Clinton was rated favorable by 44 percent of voters and Trump had 33 percent favorability.
In the state’s U.S. Senate contest, Democrat Kate McGinty, with 43 percent, led incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, an East Providence native, who got 36 percent. Twenty percent were undicided in the senate campaign.
The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted from July 25 to July 27 and carries a margin of sampling error of 4.4 percent.
