Hillary Clinton is leading Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump by five points in the Sunshine State, according to a poll released Monday.
The Quinnipiac University poll showed Clinton with a slight advantage over her opponent, taking 46 percent to Trump’s 41 percent in a four-way contest including the Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who took five percent and two percent, respectively.
Clinton still maintains a five-point lead over Trump in a two-way contest, taking 49 percent to Trump’s 44 percent.
Independent voters tend to support Trump at a slightly higher rate than they support Clinton, with 42 percent saying they favor Trump while 39 percent support Clinton.
Trump tends to do better with male voters, while Clinton gets more support from women voters. Forty-nine percent of men said they support Trump while 38 percent said they support Clinton.
Fifty-three percent of women said they support Clinton while 33 percent said they supported Trump.
Clinton’s numbers have increased slightly since the first debate, which was held last week. Many polls have seen her as the winner of that debate, the first of three to be held before the November election.
The Quinnipiac Poll found most likely voters believed Clinton was the winner of last weeks debate, with 56 percent saying she won while only 21 percent said Trump won the debate.
The second presidential debate will be held Sunday at Washington University in St. Louis and the third presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 19 in Las Vegas.
The Florida poll is good news for Clinton, but Trump is still maintaining a slight lead in other states.
"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," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
"The good news for Secretary Clinton is that she has opened a five-point lead in Florida, in what had been a dead heat in Quinnipiac University's September 8 poll. But Donald Trump holds his lead in Ohio and stays close in North Carolina while she retains her small margin in Pennsylvania."
Florida is considered a must-win state for the presidency. With 29 electoral votes, winning Florida has always been a top priority for presidential hopefuls.
The poll of 545 likely voters was conducted Sept. 27 through Oct. 2. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percent.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
