According to new polls, Hillary Clinton maintains a healthy edge over Donald Trump nationally and that is not the Republican nominee’s only problem.
A Monmouth University survey found that 47 percent of registered voters support the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Clinton, while 40 percent support Donald Trump. Most polling data also has Mrs. Clinton maintaining a healthy lead over Trump.
According to The New York Times , Hillary Clinton garners 44 percent of votes over Trump’s 38 percent on national polls. Both candidates are expected to get a boost from the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention respectively.
Donald Trump’s national poll numbers over past month. (per @RealClearNews average of polls) https://t.co/ZDY9aAiyvi pic.twitter.com/vYVfBFn61b
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) June 19, 2016
Trump’s other problem is his shocking money deficit in campaign funding. As of now, Donald Trump has the biggest financial deficit going into a general election in recent history. Trump’s campaign has $1.3 million in funding compared to Clinton’s $42.5 million coming in June, according to filings released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
While Trump managed to secure the Republican nomination with a small campaign staff and little funding, he didn’t have an unfavorability level of 70 percent, he does now. Clinton, who is also unpopular among American voters, has the money to change that with campaign ads and working staff.
Clinton’s campaign has about $21m reserved for TV ads in major swing states while the Trump campaign has not made any general election ad buys. Therefore, this leaves the Republican National Committee to organize and fund campaign efforts in swing states this summer.
A Trump campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks suggest that there are no issues with raising funds: “There are no fundraising concerns whatsoever. The money is pouring in, and Mr. Trump has received tremendous support.”
The New York Times reports that anonymous fund-raisers for Trump hope to raise up to $500 million with the help of the Republican National Committee, which comes to an average of $100 million per month from June through to October. Trump is expected to have a big fundraiser in New York this week.
Mitt Romney also had a money deficit when he raced against Obama in 2012. However, Romney’s campaign raised millions more than Trump during the same time period.
Donald Trump’s inflammatory comments seem to be responsible for Hillary Clinton’s edge in the polls and his trouble raising money in the campaign. These comments include suggesting Obama supports ISIS, racial remarks about a Hispanic judge, and profiling Muslims.
Donald Trump Lagged Far Behind Hillary Clinton in May Fundraising https://t.co/6WgVrcViOc
— Variety (@Variety) June 21, 2016
In another sign of trouble ahead, Donald Trump has fired his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski releasing a statement:
“The Donald J. Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican Primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign. The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”
Some reports suggest that Trump may tap new sources of funding to make up for the struggling fund-raising efforts from volunteering Trump supporters. Donald Trump himself has made little effort to raise campaign funds. The Republican National Committee reportedly raised about $13 million in May, which is about one-third the amount of money it raised for Romney.
Going into the general election, there are few signs that Donald Trump is going to overcome the edge Hillary Clinton has over him in the polls or in campaign funds.
Trump has decided to rely on his extensive press coverage rather than ad spending. Most media coverage of the businessman has not been positive and may also play a part in public perception. Donald Trump has had a unique presidential campaign, which makes any predictions about the results difficult.
[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]