Hillary Clinton enters the final two weeks of the presidential race with a larger lead in North Carolina than previously seen, according to a new poll released Tuesday.
The latest New York Times Upshot/Siena College survey found the Democratic presidential nominee with the support of 46% of likely voters in the battleground state, outpacing Donald Trump’s 39%. Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson has the support of 8% of North Carolina voters, the poll showed.
Most polls have shown a tighter race in North Carolina this year than Tuesday’s survey from the New York Times/Siena. On Monday, a poll from Monmouth University found Clinton and Trump locked in a virtual tie.
The new poll represents easily one of Clinton’s best surveys in the state, which has been carried by Republicans in eight of the last ten presidential contests. President Barack Obama won there in 2008, ending more than two decades of GOP dominance, but Mitt Romney returned the state to the red column four years ago.
The New York Times/Siena poll was conducted October 20-23 using live phone interviews with 792 likely North Carolina voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.