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Toomey Leads McGinty in Latest Poll

Pennsylvania GOP senator still 'unpersuaded' about Trump

Pennsylvania Sen. Patrick J. Toomey said he hoped he could be persuaded to be an "enthusiastic supporter" of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Pennsylvania Sen. Patrick J. Toomey said he hoped he could be persuaded to be an "enthusiastic supporter" of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

A new poll shows Pennsylvania Sen. Patrick J. Toomey beating Democratic challenger Katie McGinty despite his struggles with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The WHTM-TV/ABC27 News poll conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research gave Toomey a 4-point lead over McGinty, 42 percent to 38 percent. 

But the survey also found that 36 percent of respondents said they felt Toomey would be a strong ally of Trump and Republicans as opposed to 24 percent who said he’d be more bipartisan.

[Roll Call’s 2016 Election Guide: Senate]

In the wake of a leaked tape from 2005 that showed the Republican nominee making lewd remarks about women, Toomey called the comments “indefensible and appalling,” but wouldn’t rule out voting for Trump or endorsing him.

“I had hoped that Donald Trump would persuade me to be an enthusiastic supporter, that had been what I’d hoped,” Toomey said at a campaign event in Villanova on Tuesday. “But at this point, I remain unpersuaded.”

In the presidential race, the Susquehanna poll showed Democrat Hillary Clinton leading Trump by 4 points in a four-way race, 44 percent to 40 percent. 

The poll surveyed 764 likely voters from Oct. 4-9, and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

The Rothenberg & Gonazales Political Report/Roll Call rates the Pennsylvania Senate race a Tossup.

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