Clinton jumps to 7-point lead in Nevada

by Jonathan Easley - 10/18/16 1:00 PM ET

LAS VEGAS — Hillary Clinton has pulled ahead of Donald Trump in the battleground state of Nevada, a new poll finds.

A Monmouth University survey released Tuesday found Clinton taking 47 percent support, with Trump at 40 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson gets 7 percent support, and 2 percent said they will choose “none of the candidates on the ballot.”

{mosads}The race in Nevada has been going back and forth in recent months. Trump led by 2 points in the same poll from September, while Clinton held a 4-point advantage in the July survey.

Clinton’s lead in the Monmouth survey is larger than it has been in other polls. She leads in Nevada by only 2.5 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Still, the findings are in line with data from national polls and other battleground states that have found Clinton opening up a comfortable lead following the explosive sexual misconduct allegations against Trump by several women.

Clinton was boosted in the Nevada poll by growing support from two traditional Democratic strongholds: non-white voters and younger voters.

Among non-white voters, Clinton has expanded her lead over Trump from 35 points to 49. Among voters under 50, Clinton leads 55 to 28 percent after only edging Trump by 1 point in the previous survey.

“We saw this same trend in the national poll Monmouth released yesterday,” said Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray. “Historically Democratic groups appear to be coming home to Clinton, especially among male voters in these key voting blocs.

Meanwhile, among white voters, Trump’s lead has shrunk from 18 points to 13.

Both candidates remain deep underwater on favorability, but Clinton has a significant edge on the question of presidential temperament. Fifty-six percent say Clinton is fit to be commander in chief, compared to only 35 percent who say the same of Trump.

In the Nevada Senate race, Rep. Joe Heck (R) is running better than Trump and leading his Democratic challenger, state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, by 45 to 42 percent.

Heck’s lead over Cortez Masto has been steadily around 2 to 3 points in the last three Monmouth surveys as they battle to replace retiring Sen. Harry Reid (D).

Thirty-nine percent have a positive view of Heck, against 32 percent negative. Cortez Masto is viewed more negatively, posting a 29-36 split.

The Monmouth University survey of 413 likely voters in Nevada was conducted from Oct. 14 to 17 and has a 4.8 percentage point margin of error.

Tags Donald Trump Gary Johnson Harry Reid Hillary Clinton