Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
She might be one of the most disliked presidential candidates in modern memory, but Floridians appear to support Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump for president.
A new poll by the Florida Chamber Political Institute shows Clinton leads Trump, 46 percent to 42 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson received 5 percent support, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein picked received 1 percent support. Six percent of respondents said they either were undecided or voting for someone else.
The Chamber of Commerce poll was conducted from Oct. 16 through Oct. 19 by Cherry Communications. The poll of 507 of likely and newly registered voters has a margin of error of 4.4 percent.
Clinton, according to a polling memo, picked up a point since the Florida Chamber’s last poll in September. That survey showed Clinton leading 45 percent to 42 percent in a head-to-head general election match-up. In a four-way race, Clinton led Trump, 43 percent to 41 percent.
Despite growing support for the Democratic nominee, Clinton remains deeply disliked. The poll found 53 percent of Floridians said they had an unfavorable opinion of the former secretary of state, compared to 44 percent who said they had a favorable opinion.
Trump didn’t fare much better. Much like Clinton, 53 percent of Floridians said they had an unfavorable view of the New York Republican, compared to 42 percent who said they had a favorable impression.
According to the polling memo, Clinton leads Trump 60 percent to 33 percent in Miami, and 63 percent to 33 percent in West Palm Beach. She also is “buoyed by her commanding lead among Hispanics.” According to the report, she leads Trump 59 percent to 28 percent among Hispanic voters.
She’s also leading among independent voters, with the memo noting she “leads Trump among unaffiliated voters 46 percent to 37 percent.” Johnson received support from 7 percent of unaffiliated voters.
The new Florida Chamber poll is in line with previous polls of the Sunshine State. According to RealClearPolitics, Clinton has an average 4.3 percentage point lead over Trump.
The Division of Elections reported nearly 1.2 million voters had cast their ballot in the Nov. 8 general election as of Sunday. Early voting is scheduled to begin Monday in about 50 Florida counties.
