Trump gains on Clinton despite furor over
women, election comments
Send a link to a friend
[October 22, 2016]
By Chris Kahn
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump gained on
Hillary Clinton among American voters this week, cutting her lead nearly
in half despite a string of women accusing him of unwanted sexual
advances and the furor over his disputed claims that the election
process is rigged, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.
The survey also showed that 63 percent of Americans, including a third
of Republicans, believe the New York real estate mogul has committed
sexual assault in the past, though the Republican presidential candidate
has denied the recent accusations.
Clinton, the Democratic former secretary of state, led Trump 44 percent
to 40 percent, according to the Oct. 14-20 poll, a 4-point lead, with
the Nov. 8 election fast approaching. That compared with 44 percent for
Clinton and 37 percent for Trump in the Oct. 7-13 poll released last
week.
Clinton's lead also shrank in a separate four-way poll that included
alternative party candidates: 43 percent supported her, while 39 percent
supported Trump, 6 percent supported Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson,
and 2 percent supported Jill Stein of the Green Party.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/22/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda021709.png)
Support for Clinton had been mostly rising in the seven-day tracking
poll since the last week of August, when the candidates were about tied.
The latest reading showed that Trump's deficit narrowed to what it was
before a video surfaced on Oct. 7 featuring him bragging about groping
and kissing women. Several women have since accused him of making
unwanted sexual advances in separate incidents from the early 1980s to
2007.
Trump has denied the allegations, calling them "totally and absolutely
false."
The latest poll included a separate series of questions that asked
people what they thought of Trump's conduct around women. It found 63
percent of American adults, including 34 percent of likely Republican
voters, agreed with the statement "I believe Donald Trump has committed
sexual assault in the past."
Reuters contacted a few of the poll respondents who said they felt that
Trump had "committed sexual assault" but were still supporting his
candidacy. Their answers were generally the same: Whatever Trump did
with women in the past is less important to them than what he may do as
president.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/102216pics/news_c5.jpg)
Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump arrives for a
campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 21, 2016.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/22/images/ads/current/symphony_lda_HALLOWEEN_2016.png)
"I’m embarrassed that our country can’t come up with better
candidates, to be honest with you," said Evelyn Brendemuhl, 83, of
Hope, North Dakota. But "he’ll appoint more conservative judges, and
she’s (Clinton) pro-abortion, and I’m not for that."
Gary Taylor, 59, a Republican from Colorado said his support stemmed
mostly from a desire to see "something different than the last eight
years" in the White House.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50
states. It included 1,640 people who were considered likely voters,
given their voting history, registration status and stated intention
to vote. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3
percentage points, meaning results could vary by that much either
way.
The poll questions on Trump's unwanted sexual advances scandal were
asked of 1,915 American adults, including 546 likely Republican
voters. It had a credibility interval of 3 percentage points for all
adults and 5 points for Republican voters.
(Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Jonathan Oatis)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/22/images/ads/current/graue_16_colorado_101016.png)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/22/images/ads/current/ldn_medical_directory_small2.png) |