Hillary Clinton is leading in both Colorado and Virginia, shoring up support in two battleground states in post-debate polling.
The Democratic presidential nominee holds an 11-point lead over opponent Donald Trump in Colorado, according to Monmouth University poll released Monday. About 49% backed Clinton, 38% backed Trump, 7% backed Libertarian Gary Johnson and 3% backed Green Party nominee Jill Stein, the poll said.
Prior to the first presidential debate, Clinton and Trump were locked in a statistical tie Centennial State, according to earlier CNN/ORC and Quinnipiac polls conducted in September. The new poll shows Clinton’s lead consistent with where the Democratic nominee was earlier this summer.
“Clinton’s current lead is as comfortable as it was three months ago, which is probably why her campaign has not diverted a lot of resources here,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a memo accompanying the poll results.
Support for Clinton from minority voters within the state is four times that for Trump — she holds a 54% lead, an overwhelming advantage nearly unchanged since July.
In Virginia, the former secretary of state is again gaining traction, pulling an 8-point lead over Trump, 42%-35%, according to a poll from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University.
Clinton’s edge in Virginia keeps with results from several polls of the state conducted prior to her first debate appearance. Support from millennial voters — a demographic Clinton has struggled with — also increased by 7 percentage points in the state.
Both Colorado and Virginia are key battleground states that can help determine the winner of the election thanks to the Electoral College.
The Monmouth poll surveyed 400 likely Colorado voters between September 29 to October 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
The Wason Center poll surveyed 892 likely Virginia voters between September 27 to 30, 2016, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
