Students Vs. Polls

A national Fox News poll conducted between Oct. 15-17 shows Hillary Clinton with 45 percent of the national vote, Donald Trump with 39 percent, Gary Johnson with five percent and Jill Stein with three percent. According to these statistics, Hillary Clinton is in a commanding lead. This poll is not an outlier, as the majority of national polls have shown Hillary Clinton with the lead since Oct. 1.

The poll with the largest sample size so far in October was an NBC News poll conducted between Oct. 10 and 16; it polled 24,000 people. This NBC poll showed Hillary Clinton with 46 percent of the vote, Donald Trump with 40 percent, Gary Johnson with eight percent and Jill Stein with four percent. The decided margin of error for this poll was relatively small, at just one percent.

In the battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio, the polls have shown that the race remains tight. A CNN/ORC poll conducted in Nevada between Oct. 10 and 17 signaled that 46 percent of Nevada residents supported Hillary Clinton, 44 percent support Donald Trump and seven percent for regional darkhorse Gary Johnson.

In North Carolina a CNN/ORC poll conducted between Oct. 10 and 17 showed that the race there is very close, with Hillary Clinton coming in with 48 percent of the state’s support, Donald Trump with 47 percent and four percent signaling they will vote for a third party.

As for Ohio, a CNN/ORC poll conducted between Oct. 10 and 17 proved in Hillary Clinton’s favor as she is showing 48 percent of voter support compared to Donald Trump’s 44 percent; this poll showing the ineffectiveness of Donald Trump’s ‘Rust Belt’ strategy, which included targeting former big industry towns with his ‘bring back jobs’-pitch.

Post students are formulating their own opinions as to who is leading in this presiden- tial race. “I think Trump is winning, it’s not just my opinion. I think the pundits are hyping up Hillary, but it seems like according to things I’ve read online, American’s are saying Trump won both debates,” said Nick Buthcer, a senior, biomedical technology major. When asked whom he would be voting for, Butcher said, “I’m undecided, but I think I may go third party. Personally, it’s important that I vote.”

Not all students think Trump is leading. Sophomore, business entrepreneurial major Connor Farrell, said, “I think Hillary is ahead, primarily because the media and government want her to win.” When asked whom he would be voting for, Farrell said, “I want Trump to win because I just don’t trust Hillary.”

Some students are skeptical of the polls. “I don’t trust the polls. I think most people won’t say honestly [whom] they are voting for until Election Day,” said Brenden Gaghan, a senior history major. “I go off the debates, I feel like each won one debate. It’s probably closer than most people think.”