Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton continues to gain ground on Donald Trump in Florida, widening her lead in a new poll released Friday.
The Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey found Clinton routing Trump by 46 percent with likely voters, while Trump receives 42 percent of the vote in a four-way contest. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson received 5 percent of the vote while Jill Stein took 1 percent.
When PPP polled Florida voters two weeks ago, Clinton had a slightly smaller lead of 45 percent. When Clinton and Trump were placed in a two-way contest, her lead grew to 49-45.
An “Access Hollywood” videotape showing Trump making lewd comments about women last week has deeply affected Trump’s favorability with Florida voters. In PPP’s last poll, Trump had a net -11 rating (42/53) which has declined to 59 percent of voters viewing him unfavorably.
“Donald Trump’s just getting even more unpopular as Election Day nears,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “With Hillary Clinton’s lead continuing to grow in states like Florida that she doesn’t even necessarily need to win the election, the question is becoming less whether she will win than the magnitude of the landslide.”
A slightly lower percentage of voters view Clinton unfavorably, with 51 percent saying they had an unfavorable opinion of her while 44 percent said they viewed her favorably.
Florida voters aren’t falling prey to Trump’s line of attacks on Bill Clinton’s past actions against his wife, either. Only 35 percent of voters say it’s fair to hold Hillary Clinton responsible for the behavior of her husband, but more than half -- 57 percent -- say it’s unfair to hold Hillary responsible for Bill’s behavior.
While numerous polls have shown a back-and-forth between the candidates with Trump up and Clinton up from week to week, the general trend has been in Clinton’s favor over the last few weeks.
On top of that, state Democrats are on the up-and-up in vote-by-mail returns in Florida.
Florida, the nation’s most important swing state, is a must-win for anyone hoping to emerge victorious on Nov. 8. Both candidates have honed in on Florida in recent months, with both Clinton and Trump making appearances in the Sunshine State this week.
Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence will be appearing in Florida this weekend at the Miami-Dade GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner and will later headline the Republican Party of Florida’s annual dinner in Tampa Saturday.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 985 likely voters from Oct. 12-13. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
