October 11, 2016, 02:19 pm
Poll: Clinton has 9-point lead over Trump
By Rebecca Savransky
Hillary Clinton has a 9-point lead over Donald Trump nationally, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Clinton (D) is favored by 46 percent of likely voters, and Trump (R) is backed by 37 percent.
Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson has the support of 8 percent of likely voters, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein is backed by 2 percent.
In a head-to-head matchup, Clinton's lead over Trump widens to 10 points, 50 percent to 40 percent.
The poll was conducted Oct. 8–10 and includes data from interviews conducted after the presidential debate on Sunday.
Among only those voters contacted after Sunday night's debate, the Democratic nominee's lead over Trump dropped to 7 points in both four-way and head-to-head matchups.
The poll also found more support for Trump among Republicans following the debate.
Nearly three-quarters of Republicans polled after the debate said the GOP House and Senate candidates should back Trump. Ahead of the debate, only 67 percent of voters said the same.
That number comes as GOP lawmakers and elected officials are abandoning the party nominee in droves, after audio emerged Friday of Trump making sexually obscene remarks about groping women. In the tape, Trump described how he could grope and kiss women without their consent because of his celebrity status.
Following the debate, fewer voters than before said the release of that 2005 tape should disqualify him from the race.
Thirty-six percent of likely voters asked after the debate said the tape is disqualifying and Trump should withdraw from the race; 47 percent disagreed.
Before the debate, 38 percent of likely voters said the tape is disqualifying and 42 percent disagreed.
The poll was conducted Oct. 8-10 among 806 likely voters. The margin of error is 3.5 percent.
A PRRI/The Atlantic national poll released Tuesday — which was conducted Oct. 5-7, before the second debate —showed Clinton with an 11-point lead, while Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics average of polls put Clinton up 6.5 points.