NY poll: Hillary Clinton surges to 30-point lead over Donald Trump
By , on August 15, 2016 at 5:30 AM, updated August 15, 2016 at 12:36 PM, http://www.syracuse.com/politi...er_donald_trump.html
Democrat Hillary Clinton has opened a 30-point lead over Republican Donald Trump in New York state, according to a new Siena College poll on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016. It is the first Siena College poll of New Yorkers since the Democratic and Republican national conventions last month. (AP photos)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hillary Clinton has widened her lead to 30 points over Donald Trump among New York voters, dominating a state Trump has vowed to make competitive in the 2016 presidential race, according to a new poll published Monday.
It was the first Siena College poll in New York since the Republican and Democratic national conventions last month, and mirrors a trend showing gains by Clinton in national polls over the past two weeks.
Clinton has surged in the Empire State since a Siena College poll in June showed she had a 23-point lead over Trump, 54-31 percent.
Clinton, the former two-term New York senator, now leads Trump in his home state by 57-27 percent in the new poll.
The poll of 717 registered voters in New York took place Aug. 7 through Wednesday, and was conducted by telephone calls to land lines and cell phones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
Clinton opened up her lead with overwhelming support in the Democratic stronghold of New York City (70-15 percent) and a comfortable margin in Upstate New York (48 percent to 37 percent), the poll found.
"Despite Trump's claims to carry New York, the Empire State seems firmly planted on the blue side of the map," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.
He noted that New Yorkers voted Democratic in the last seven presidential elections, and said "there does not appear to be a real threat to end that streak."
Trump has said that his path to the White House will include a huge victory in New York because he's wildly popular with Upstate residents.
"Upstate New York, I'm like the most popular person that has ever lived, virtually," Trump told CNN in February. "They're great friends of mine."
The same month, Trump cited the results of a non-scientific Syracuse.com poll after a Republican debate as one indication of his popularity in Upstate New York.
Donald Trump: Upstate New York is like a ghost town
In Iowa speech, Trump says NAFTA and other free trade agreements have ruined the region's economy.
The new Siena poll found New Yorkers believe by a 40-point margin that Clinton is more qualified than Trump to be commander in chief, and would be more effective at working with Congress (a 32-point margin).
New York voters were almost evenly split on the question of making America great again. About 49 percent said America is great now, while 44 percent say it's time to make America great again.
When asked about six issues in the campaign, voters strongly favored Clinton over Trump on improving health care, immigration policy, keeping America safe from terrorism, creating jobs, addressing global trade, and addressing tensions between police and communities of color.
Hillary Clinton is gaining ground in the polls in key states against Donald Trump. Aarti Pole reports.
