Poll: Voters Don’t Trust Clinton, but She Holds 10-Point Lead
Many say they're voting against other candidate rather than for their own
A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows the depth of how much of a lesser-of-two-evils election this year’s presidential race is.
Nearly two-thirds of those who said they were voting for Republican candidate Donald Trump said their motivation had more to do with making sure that Democrat Hillary Clinton doesn’t get into the White House. Only 25 percent said their vote was pro-Trump rather than anti-Clinton.
Among Clinton supporters, 47 percent said their vote was mainly for the Democratic nominee while 32 percent said they were voting against Trump.
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The poll was also consistent with others that have indicated that both candidates have the lowest favorability ratings in any presidential election. 53 percent of voters rated Clinton negatively compared to 61 percent for Trump.
Despite those high unfavorables, Clinton holds a 10-point lead over Trump.
“Trump’s missteps, stumbles and gaffes seem to outweigh Clinton’s shaky trust status and perceived shady dealings,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll. “Wow, is there any light at the end of this dark and depressing chapter in American politics?”
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While Clinton leads Trump overall, only 44 percent of the likely voters polled said they like the Democratic nominee “a lot” or “a little,” 47 percent dislike her “a little” or “a lot;” 8 percent said they hate her.
There’s even less love for Trump: While 35 percent of voters said they like Trump “a little or a lot,” 53 percent say the dislike him and 10 percent said they hate him.
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Those polled, however, saw Trump as more honest than Clinton. Or less dishonest: While 53 percent said Trump was dishonest, 66 percent said the same of Clinton.
The poll surveyed 1,498 likely voters nationwide by landline telephone and cellphone from Aug. 18 to Aug. 24. The margin of error was 2.5 percentage points.
Contact Rahman at remarahman@cqrollcall.com or follow her on Twitter at @remawriter.
