Voter general election preferences

[GMDino]

http://www.people-press.org/2016/07/07/2-voter-general-election-preferences/

Quote:Ahead of the party conventions – and four months before the general election – Hillary Clinton holds a significant edge over Donald Trump in voter preferences.



Among registered voters, 45% say they would vote for Hillary Clinton if the election were held today, compared with 36% who say they would vote for Donald Trump and 11% who say they would vote for the libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.


When asked to choose only between the two major party candidates, 51% would choose Clinton and 42% would choose Trump (an identical margin to the one when Gary Johnson is included in the question).


At this point in the campaign, many Clinton and Trump supporters describe their choice as a vote against the opposing candidate. In addition, for the first time since the 2000 election, fewer than half of both candidates’ supporters say they back their candidate strongly. Nonetheless, in an increasingly polarized environment, very few supporters of either candidate say there is a chance they might change their mind and vote for the other candidate this fall.


Among those who choose Trump over Clinton in the head-to-head question on voter preferences, 55% say their choice is more a vote against Clinton than for Trump. A smaller share (41%) says their vote is more for Trump than against Clinton. In 2008 and 2000 (the two most recent presidential elections with no incumbent candidate), no more than about a third of those planning to support the Republican candidate said their choice was more a vote against the Democrat than for the Republican.


“Negative voting” is also widespread on the Democratic side. Among those planning to support Clinton in the general election, half (50%) say they think of their choice as more of a vote against Trump than for Clinton. About as many (48%) say their vote is more for Clinton than against Trump. The share of Democratic general election supporters who say they think of their vote more as a vote against the Republican candidate is higher than it was at this point in each of the past four presidential elections.


In addition, fewer than half of both Clinton and Trump supporters say they support their candidate “strongly.”

Much more at the link.