Skeptical Republicans are warming to Donald Trump after all, and he’s cut Hillary Clinton’s once-sizable ABC News/Washington Post poll lead to 2 points, a new survey released Saturday found.
The survey reflects voter sentiment over four nights ending Thursday, before Friday’s bombshell news that the FBI has opened another investigation relating to Clinton’s use of a private email system for government business.
“As Trump’s controversies last week and the week before move farther into the rear view mirror, Republicans are expressing greater likelihood to participate: Eighty-one percent of registered Republicans now are likely voters, up from 75 percent a week ago,” said a poll analysis.
The final Trump-Clinton debate was Oct. 19, and in the four days following, Clinton opened up a 12 point lead.
That lead began shrinking this week as Trump gained with Republicans. Earlier this week, 82 percent backed Trump; it’s now up to 86 percent.
Other polls completed late this week have shown a tight race recently. Clinton’s lead was up slightly, to 4 points, in the latest IBD/TIPP survey. The Los Angeles-Times/University of Southern California Dornsife tracking poll has Trump up 2.
The pollsters did have this warming: “The dynamics can continue to shift. While preferences in recent past elections have been stable, there are previous examples of wild rides. Most notable is 1992, when, among many gyrations, Bill Clinton went from an 11-point lead to a 3-point gap in six days late in the race – a shift much like his wife is experiencing in her contest, these 24 years later.”
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid