Polls: Clinton ahead in three battlegrounds, trails in Ohio

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is ahead in three battleground states but trails GOP nominee Donald Trump in Ohio, new polls released Monday find.

{mosads}In a four-way contest including Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein, the new Quinnipiac University surveys found Clinton ahead of Trump in Florida by 5 points, 46 to 41 percent, growing her lead from the tie in last month’s poll. In North Carolina, she leads by 3 points, 46 to 43 percent, and in Pennsylvania by 4 points, 45 to 41 percent.

But in Ohio, the real estate mogul was up by 5 points, 47 to 42 percent. Trump widened his lead by 1 point since last month’s poll.

Clinton has seen a modest bump in the polls since the first presidential debate of the general election season. The two will square off again on Oct. 9.

But Peter Brown, assistant director of the poll, noted that despite viewers widely believing Clinton won the debate, it hasn’t helped the former secretary of State widen her lead in the polls in critical states.

“Although Hillary Clinton won the first debate with Donald Trump, this victory did her only little good in her race for the White House,” Brown said.

“Likely voters in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the four largest and most important Swing States, seem little closer to an Election Day decision,” he continued.

The polls were conducted Sept. 27–Oct. 2 via phone. The Florida poll surveyed 545 likely voters with a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points. The North Carolina poll surveyed 507 likely voters with a margin of error of 4.4 points. The Ohio poll surveyed 497 likely voters with a margin of error of 4.4 points. The Pennsylvania poll surveyed 535 likely voters with a margin of error of 4.2 points.