Donald Trump may be reaping the benefits of his running mate’s strong debate performance Tuesday, according to a Thursday poll.
The daily Rasmussen Reports White House Watch poll found Trump slightly increased his lead over Hillary Clinton, and now has 43 percent of the vote nationwide compared to Clinton’s 41 percent. That’s a bit better than the 42-41 lead he had the day before.
Trump had a 5-point lead over Clinton before their first debate last week, but his appeal dropped significantly after his debate performance was panned.
However, the pollsters reported that by Monday, the two major party candidates were at a near tie and the Republican has risen a point every day since. They said voters are more likely this year to view the vice presidential debate as playing a nearly equal role as the presidential debates in informing their vote.
A little over 80 percent of those polled said they are certain who they will vote for on Election Day next month, and that group favored Trump narrowly, 49-47. Among those who said they are open to changing their minds, Trump leads 31-29, and 40 percent are leaning toward one of the third-party candidates.
Both major candidates get 77 percent of the voters from their own parties, but Trump has more support from Democrats than Clinton has from Republicans.
Though Clinton is overwhelmingly preferred by blacks, Trump has a double-digit lead among whites and the two candidates are nearly tied for votes from other minorities. Minorities are less certain of who they will support on election day compared to blacks and whites.
The telephone and online survey of 1,500 was conducted Oct. 3 through 5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 points.
