2016 Presidential Polls: Heading Into The First Debate Tonight, Who Is Winning — Donald Trump Or Hillary Clinton?
One of the most anticipated nights of the year has arrived, and the first presidential debate of 2016 is just mere hours away. Everyone had an idea that it would end up coming down to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and it also seems as if many are dead set against having anything to do with this election. Still, tonight’s debate is going to happen, and the preliminary presidential polls show who is winning as the time comes for both candidates to step on stage.
Over the course of the past week, some presidential polls have shown Hillary Clinton pulling ahead nationally. Other polls have shown that Donald Trump is leading in the majority of the battleground states. Days later, those results could very well be flipped, with someone else taking the lead — then it could happen again the next day.
The first presidential debate of 2016 is taking place tonight, and it is set to begin at 9 p.m. EST from Hofstra University. As many TV networks and social media sites will provide coverage, it’s time to see who is leading it all as of Monday afternoon.
As of Monday morning, CNN reported that the two candidates were almost totally deadlocked in both Colorado and Pennsylvania. Actually, it’s just one point in each state that separates the Democratic presidential candidate from the Republican presidential candidate.
Colorado
- Clinton – 42 percent
- Trump – 41 percent
- Libertarian Gary Johnson – 13 percent/li>
- Green Party’s Jill Stein – 3 percent
Pennsylvania
- Clinton – 45 percent
- Trump – 44 percent
- Johnson – 6 percent
- Stein – 3 percent
There is a 3.5-point margin of sampling error in the polls for both of those states. Jill Stein and Gary Johnson could end up taking a few percentage points away from each of the top two candidates and that makes these debates that much more important.
VIEWER’S GUIDE: Trust and temperament key themes in debate https://t.co/dN4Q5LYpGm pic.twitter.com/1ilv5YdJnX
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) September 26, 2016
According to the Washington Post on Sunday morning, Clinton was leading Trump nationally by two points among likely voters for November’s election. Going by the 4.5 percent margin of error, though, the candidates are actually tied, and it makes this election that much closer.
These recent numbers show that Clinton’s numbers are dropping in the polls, and that comes in large part to the health issues that have been so prominent in the media lately. Her medical episode from earlier this month caused the polls to begin leaning in a different direction as some feel she simply isn’t fit to run the country.
If she’s going to get some of those lost voters back in her favor, tonight’s debate will have to include a strong showing from the Democratic side. This election is going to rely heavily on the results of each debate, and the candidates need to make sure that they put their best foot forward during each one.
While the current numbers may come across as important to many people, they are very early and could change drastically. The Wall Street Journal states that the presidential debates will be a major influence on around 34 percent of all voters and could swing the entire election from one direction to the other.
These debates should not be taken lightly, as Clinton or Trump could gain an extreme amount of confidence and sway voters to their side just by appearing strong on stage.
Heavy put together a round-up of all the latest polls as the debate inches ever closer, and it’s hard to determine who is actually out in the lead for this election. The numbers are so close that no one has a true advantage. If they want to pull ahead, tonight is the time to do it.
Tonight’s presidential debate is just the first one of 2016, but it’s going to be one of the biggest of all time. Seeing Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton in the election race to be the next president is not something that many thought would ever happen, but it is indeed taking place. That being said, the preliminary 2016 presidential polls are fluctuating almost daily to have one candidate in front of the other, but all that could change after the debate is over.
[Featured Image by Alex Wong and Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
