Donald Trump and his supporters claim they can rewrite the Electoral College map by taking Rust Belt states away from Democrats. By flipping Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin from the 2012 election results, Republicans can get to exactly 270 Electoral College votes and win the White House. Trump will do that, advocates argue, by claiming the working- and middle-class voters left behind by the economy over the last 30 years, especially by making trade a key issue in the campaign.
That issue has certainly been at the forefront of the primary debates in both parties for almost a year now. And yet, a new Bloomberg poll of middle-income voters in these four states shows Hillary Clinton with a seven-point lead, and Trump not quite to 40%:
Donald Trump trails Hillary Clinton by 7 percentage points among middle-income voters in the Rust Belt, a key demographic he almost certainly needs to become president.
Likely voters with annual family incomes of $30,000 to $75,000 in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin back Clinton over Trump, 46 percent to 39 percent, the latest Purple Slice online poll for Bloomberg Politics shows.
The findings should sound an alarm for Trump because they show he’s failing—at least so far—to dominate among the sort of voters thought to be more sympathetic to him. The poll also splashes cold water on suggestions that the real-estate developer and TV personality is well positioned to win in the Rust Belt.
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http://hotair.com/archives/2016/05/26/rust-belt-alert-hillary-leads-middle-income-voters-by-7-in-mi-oh-pa-wi/
