With the first debate being over for almost a week now, many have wondered what is happening with the 2016 presidential polls. While they are still early indicators and not concrete evidence of what will transpire, it’s interesting to see where the voters stand. Looking at all the likely voters is one thing, but both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are really checking out their progress in the battleground or swing states, and those numbers are already quite interesting.
Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina are always the key states that voters and candidates focus on in every presidential election. So many times, the voting results in those states have been huge factors in who ends up taking office.
As always, things could change drastically in the next couple of months before the election, but battleground states are constantly closely watched.
????????Hillary cedes battleground state of Ohio to Trump? @CNN admits she’s “struggling mightily among white voters” pic.twitter.com/snKvlc46C6
— DJ (@blaubok) September 26, 2016
Well, that is one swing state that could end up going in Trump’s favor as it Clinton is already dealing with some issues in Ohio, but what about the others? One of the biggest concerns is that of Florida and where it stands after the first debate.
According to ABC News , Florida was actually almost split right down the middle at this time as a Quinnipiac University poll from earlier this month showed. Both candidates had 47 percent of the vote as of Sept. 8, but that was before the debate this past Monday.
CNN is now reporting that since the debate, Hillary Clinton has taken a lead over Donald Trump in Florida by a percentage score of 46 to 42. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson took seven percent while Green Party candidate Jill Stein took just one.
Four percent of likely voters in Florida state are still undecided.
This lead for Clinton in the battleground state of Florida comes primarily due to her support from nonwhite and women voters. The Republican presidential candidate still has a very strong standing among white voters and men. That kind of support could help him greatly in the other swing states, though.
According to @RealClearNews , Trump is leading in 5 of the 7 top battleground states pic.twitter.com/8Xw9mAYOaz
— Females 4 Trump???????? (@FemalesForTrump) October 2, 2016
While that report has Trump leading in five of seven battleground states, there are other reports stating the opposite. MSNBC currently has the Democratic presidential candidate leading in the battleground states and that is proof that early polls are really hard to take any clear judgment from.
When breaking down some of the key states at this time, the debate surely helped Clinton move ahead of Trump and many polls have her out front. When taking Johnson and Stein out of the running, Public Policy Polling has Clinton on top in five key battleground states.
- Colorado : 51 — 44 percent
- Florida : 48 — 45 percent
- North Carolina : 49 — 45 percent
- Pennsylvania : 49 — 44 percent
- Virginia : 49 — 43 percent
Five Thirty Eight has the Democratic candidate leading in some other swing states as well, such as New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Michigan. A lot of her extra support is said to be coming from her performance in the debate as many believe she flat-out won it in easy fashion.
As the 2016 presidential election nears ever closer, the polls are going to stop being “early” and start counting for something. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both know that the battleground states are extremely important to their being elected, and what happens in Florida, Ohio, and others could swing the end result. There’s still time, but it is going to be interesting to see just how the votes go as each debate comes to a close.
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]