Leads Trump

Poll: Clinton leads Trump by 6 in Virginia

By Louis Nelson

The resurfacing of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal and the FBI’s examination of new evidence pertaining to it do not appear to have hurt the Democratic nominee in the swing state of Virginia, where she holds a 6 percentage point advantage over Donald Trump.

The former secretary of state leads the Manhattan billionaire, 48 percent to 42 percent, among Virginia’s likely voters in a four-way race that also includes the Green Party’s Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson.

The Washington Post/Schar School poll was conducted from last Thursday to Sunday and did not show any dip in support for Clinton in the wake of FBI Director James Comey’s announcement on Friday that the bureau is examining a cache of potentially-new emails related to the private server she maintained as secretary of state. Clinton’s support was actually stronger among respondents reached on Saturday and Sunday, the Post noted, although it’s possible that that was a result of a more diverse sample being reached on those days.

The bulk of Clinton’s support comes from the Northern Virginia counties that surround Washington, where Trump is especially unpopular. The former secretary of state holds a 43 point edge in the close-in counties around Washington, much stronger than the 26 point advantage President Barack Obama had there in 2012, and a 7 point lead in Loudoun and Fauquier counties, where 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney nearly matched Obama.

But neither candidate is viewed favorably statewide: 60 percent of voters view Trump unfavorably while 57 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton. Almost 75 percent of respondents said Clinton is too willing to bend the rules, while nearly 60 percent said Trump holds biases against women and minorities.

The Washington Post/Schar School poll was conducted from Oct. 27-30, reaching 1,024 likely voters via landlines and cell phones. The poll’s margin of error was plus-or-minus 3.5 points.