It’s been a truism throughout most of the presidential campaign that Donald Trump’s voters were more enthusiastic about him than Hillary Clinton’s were about her.
No more.
An ABC News tracking poll found that the 12-point advantage in strong enthusiasm that Trump, the Republican nominee, enjoyed over his Democratic rival as of Labor Day has eroded to a 3-point deficit.
It’s probably the worst time for Trump’s support to crater; in all of the polling by the ABC News/Washington Post survey since 2000, the candidate whose support has been more strongly enthusiastic has been the winner.
With just two weeks remaining in the campaign, 52 percent of Clinton supporters say they are very enthusiastic about her, a significant uptick since early September, when just 36 percent described themselves that way. Forty-nine percent of Trump supporters said they were strongly enthusiastic.
The poll also showed that among likely voters, Clinton now has a 12-point lead, 50-38 percent.
Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said they are now voting primarily to back her, not just to oppose Trump. An almost equal number of Trump voters – 54 percent – said they are voting largely to oppose Clinton.
The poll was conducted Oct. 20-22 in English and Spanish among 874 likely voters. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
David Goldstein: 202-383-6105, @GoldsteinDavidJ