Hillary Clinton is ahead of Donald Trump in another swing state, according to a new poll, holding a wide lead over the GOP presidential nominee in Virginia.
Clinton beats Trump among registered voters there, 52% to 38%, and retains her edge among likely voters, 51% to 43%, the new poll from the Washington Post released Tuesday reports.
The survey found Clinton leading Trump in every geographic part of Virginia except the rural southwest, the state’s most reliably conservative corner.
The Washington Post poll also found Trump underperforming with Virginia Republicans — 81% say they will vote for the GOP nominee, but just 69% of those who supported a different candidate in the 2016 primary say they will back Trump.
Conversely, Clinton is backed by 93% of Virginia Democrats, and gets the support of 86% of those who backed her primary rival Bernie Sanders.
Compounding Trump’s struggles, Clinton leads with women by 25 points and with independents by 13, among registered voters. And with college-educated white voters in Virginia, Clinton beats Trump 53% to 37% — in Virginia in 2012, Romney won 54% of those voters.
Clinton might also be buoyed by her VP choice Tim Kaine, the former governor and current senator from the state, who has a long history in local politics. Kaine is viewed favorably by 54% of registered voters versus 37% who view him unfavorably, while Trump’s VP pick Mike Pence carries a 37%-34% favorable-unfavorable split.
One area Trump holds an advantage is enthusiasm. More Trump voters — about 9 in 10 — say they are certain they will vote, while about 8 in 10 Clinton supporters say the same.
The poll reveals another uphill climb in a battleground state for Trump, who post-convention polling has shown trailing in other critical states such as Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Carolina and Florida. And a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of Virginia, released this week, also found Clinton leading, 46% to 33%.
The Washington Post poll was conducted between August 11 and 14, and surveyed a random sample of 1,002 Virginia adults. The margin of error is +/- 4 points for the sample of 888 registered voters, and the margin is +/- 4.5 points for the sample of 707 likely voters.
