Most voters either "dislike" or "hate" presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, and about a third of them said the most important reason they support the candidate of their choice is because they oppose the other candidate, not because of policy issues, a new
NBC News/Survey Monkey poll shows.
The weekly tracking poll, conducted online from May 16-22 among a national sample of 16,710 adults, including 14,513 who said they are registered voters, showed:
Nearly 60 percent said they either "dislike" or "hate" Clinton;
- 63 percent dislike or hate Trump;
- 40 percent admire or like Clinton;
- 36 percent admire or like Trump;
- 33 percent of Clinton supporters support her to oppose Trump;
- 36 percent of Trump supporters choose him to oppose Clinton.
Overall in the poll, Clinton leads Trump by four points, by 47-43 percent, a margin that was nearly changed from last week's results.
In a demographic breakdown, the new poll found wide divisions for the candidates:
- Women: Clinton, 54-36 percent;
- Men: Trump, 51-41 percent;
- Black voters: Clinton, 88-6 percent;
- Hispanics: Clinton, 64-29 percent;
- White voters, Trump, 52-38 percent.
And while supporters for both candidates said the most important reason they backed them was to oppose the competition, many had other reasons for their choices:
Trump:
- 31 percent, position on issues;
- 25 percent, leadership ability;
- 6 percent, party affiliation;
- 2 percent, experience.
Clinton:
- 30 percent, experience;
- 15 percent, positions on issues;
- 15 percent, leadership ability;
- 8 percent, party affiliation.
The poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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