In Philly suburbs, a deeply negative view on Donald Trump, poll finds
Donald Trump's poll numbers are sinking in Pennsylvania, and a new poll suggests why: The Republican presidential nominee is hugely unpopular in the vote-rich Philadelphia suburbs.
Donald Trump's poll numbers are sinking in Pennsylvania, and a new poll suggests why: The Republican presidential nominee is hugely unpopular in the vote-rich Philadelphia suburbs.
A Bloomberg Politics Pennsylvania poll found that 70 percent of likely voters in moderate Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties have a negative impression of Trump. The poll coincided with the most devastating stretch of Trump's campaign — it started Oct. 7, the same day a damaging video was unearthed showing him boasting about groping and kissing women without their consent, and ran through Oct. 11.
The finding illustrates the tall task Trump faces in a state critical to his path to victory.
The four Philadelphia suburbs accounted for 22 percent of Pennsylvania's vote in the 2012 presidential election.
Only 28 percent of voters in those counties view Trump favorably, according to the poll, shared with the Inquirer.
The poll is the first Pennsylvania survey conducted and released since the 2005 video was uncovered.
Overall, Democrat Hillary Clinton had support from 48 percent of voters statewide, the poll found, compared with 39 percent for Trump, when third-party candidates were included. Libertarian Gary Johnson had 6 percent support and 4 percent backed the Green Party's Jill Stein.
Clinton's 9 percentage-point lead is similar to what other recent Pennsylvania polls have found.
In the four suburban counties, Clinton led Trump by 56-28.
The state's U.S. Senate race is much closer, the poll suggests.
Democrat Katie McGinty led the incumbent Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey, 47-45, within the survey's margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
Statewide, Trump is viewed favorably by 40 percent of voters, the poll found, and unfavorably by 58 percent.
Clinton was also viewed more negatively than positively: 48 percent see her favorably and 51 percent unfavorably.
In the four suburban counties, however, 56 percent of voters see her favorably, against 42 percent unfavorably.
First lady Michelle Obama fared the best of all the major figures tested in the survey: 64 percent view her in a positive light. President Obama was seen positively by 56 percent of voters, compared with 43 percent who see him unfavorably.
The incumbent's popularity is a positive sign for fellow Democrats, and helps explain why he, Michelle Obama, and Vice President Biden have been rolled out as prominent surrogates here.
The poll surveyed 806 likely voters across Pennsylvania, including 373 in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. The results in the suburbs have a 5.1 percentage-point margin of error.
@JonathanTamari