Why Hillary Clinton is gaining ground in key swing states
The presidential election is heating up, with just 95 days until Election Day.
After a number of political gaffes last week, including an incident in which Donald Trump (R) insulted the family of a deceased American Muslim soldier, Hillary Clinton is as individuals who have voted Republican start to look elsewhere for their candidate.
鈥淚 will probably be ,鈥� Denver accountant Jenny Howard told the New York Times. 鈥淚t will be under duress and not something I will be proud of, but I feel a vote for Trump will definitely further divide our country.鈥�
Voters in a number of other swing states feel the same, polls show. A Franklin & Marshall poll released today shows former Secretary of State Clinton 11 points ahead of Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania, with 49 percent of the vote to the Republican's 38 percent.
Just 69 percent of registered Republican voters in the state say they support Trump, and only 40 percent of those who watched the Republican convention say they are likely to vote for him. By contrast, Clinton from the Democratic convention, with 62 percent of voters saying that the convention made them more likely to vote for her.
In New Hampshire, where Trump enjoyed early popularity, a 聽- up from just a 2 point advantage prior to the Democratic convention, .聽In Michigan, Clinton is ahead by nine points, with 41 percent of the vote.聽
In addition, a recent national poll conducted by Fox News predict a 49-to-39聽Clinton victory.
Trump鈥檚 faltering performance in the polls accompanies growing GOP concern surrounding his candidacy.聽Several prominent figures in the Republican party outright refused to attend the convention, and others have announced that they plan to vote for Clinton.
Many feel that the Republican Party they knew is unraveling in the face of a Trump candidacy, as the Monitor's Linda Feldmann reports, particularly after he failed to endorse prominent Republicans such as Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as they face primary challenges.
While a Fox poll shows that 50 percent of Republican voters approve their party鈥檚 nominee, his approval , with fully 49 percent of Republican voters saying that they wish they could vote for somebody else.
And many are voting for somebody else. A number of wealthy Republicans have decamped to Hillary鈥檚 campaign, a move that spells good things for Clinton鈥檚 coffers. At a more local level, too, Republican voters are disillusioned with their candidate.
鈥淭here are a couple things that would make any supporter of Hillary feel confident, one is that a significant part of the Republican Party in Colorado is a family values party, and they鈥檝e always had some difficulty accepting Donald Trump as the party鈥檚 candidate,鈥� 聽said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, adding that the businessman turned politician is also suffering with military voters in Colorado after his recent comments about the Khan family. 鈥淚n the last week or two some of Trump鈥檚 comments have been deeply troubling to many people who, before, candidate."
Nevertheless, the billionaire continues to approach the election with the same confidence displayed throughout his campaign.
"The campaign is doing really well. It's . It's the best in terms of being united since we began. We are doing incredibly well," he said Tuesday.
