New Elway poll has Democrats with wide lead over Republicans
Aug 17, 2016, 7:06 AM | Updated: 9:03 am
A Washington-based Elway poll has Democrat Hillary Clinton leading Republican Donald Trump in the race for president. And those results are echoed when it comes to the gubernatorial race between Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Bill Bryant.
The Elway Poll is performed by the Elway Research, Inc. It’s an independent, non-partisan organization that monitors trends in Washington state.
Related: Republican Bill Bryant finally says if he will vote for Trump or not
In its most recent poll, Elway looked at Washington’s gubernatorial race and the presidential race. In both cases — despite how people feel about the candidates — Democrats have a large lead over their Republican opponents.
Presidential race
In Washington, more voters support Clinton than Trump — 45 percent to 24 percent respectfully.
Libertarian Gary Johnson has 7 percent support among voters polled, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein has 4 percent.
A total of 16 percent of those polled said they are undecided, and 6 percent said they might just skip voting this time around.
Washington’s governor
Washington Governor Inslee has 48 percent approval from voters, while Republican Bill Bryant has 36 percent. This echoes the primary results, Elway notes.
Elway points out another unique feature in the 2016 race — the Trump factor. Voters are interested to know whether Republican candidates support Trump. Respondents to the Elway poll said they are more likely to vote against a candidate if they support Trump.
“Staying away from Trump appears to be the smart move,” Elway’s latest newsletter states.
Elway asks: How do you feel about the candidates?
Elway also found that Clinton’s supporters are a bit more enthusiastic about their candidate than the Republicans are about Trump. A total of 27 percent of Clinton supporters are enthusiastic about voting for her; 24 percent are reluctant; 19 percent were part of the “voting for a lesser evil” mentality.
Trump’s supporters, on the other hand, are largely in the “voting for the lesser evil” camp — 33 percent. Only 25 percent are enthusiastic about him.
Elway also looked into where the candidates are garnering their support:
• Clinton’s largest base is Democrats — 86 percent support. Trumps largest base is, of course, Republicans with 60 percent.
• Clinton has 50 percent support from women; Trump has 17 percent approval from women.
• Eastern Washington is where Trump holds most support — 37 percent. Clinton holds 29 percent approval.
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