Franklin and Marshall Poll: Clinton Gaining Sizable Lead Over Trump in Pa.

Trump photo by Michael Vadon, used under a Creative Commons license

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton secured an 11-point lead over Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, according to a new Franklin and Marshall College poll.

The Franklin and Marshall poll, which was conducted after the Democratic National Convention, shows Clinton received 49 percent of support among the state’s poll participants, while Trump received 38 percent.

The DNC treated Clinton considerably better than the Republican National Convention treated Trump, the poll found. Almost two thirds, or 62 percent, of participating state residents who watched the DNC said they were more likely to vote for Clinton, while only two in five, or 40 percent, of participants who watched the Republican National Convention said they were more likely to vote for Trump.

Poll participants said Clinton would better handle foreign policy issues and has more experience to be president but are torn between who is a more honest and trustworthy candidate and who could better fix the country’s economic problems.

Trump leads among those in the lowest income and education groups as well as among men, those living in rural areas and self-described conservatives, while Clinton leads among most other “subgroups,” according to the poll.

The survey is released after a rough week of publicity for Trump, whose insults toward a Gold Star family sparked a national uproar across party lines and among military families.

The poll also analyzed the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania and found Democratic candidate Katie McGinty to have a slim, one-point lead over current Republican Senator Pat Toomey, at 39 to 38 percent. Only roughly one in four state poll participants approve of Toomey’s re-election.

The sample error for the survey is +/- 4.8 percentage points. According to Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, the Franklin and Marshall College poll receives a B+ polling grade and has a slight Republican bias.

Follow @ClaireSasko on Twitter.