Latest presidential polls update Trump vs. Clinton 2016: Hillary leading Ohio, Trump leading Iowa
Published 11:12 am Sunday, October 9, 2016
The Latest on the U.S. presidential polls and race heading into tonight’s second presidential debate (all times EDT):
Hillary Clinton has a four point lead over Donald Trump in Ohio, a battleground state, in the latest CBS poll released Sunday, hours before the second presidential debate. Donald Trump, however, has a three point lead in the general election poll from the LA Times/USC consensus, and he also leads in Iowa — suggesting that the race is not over yet even though the Trump campaign has been reeling in recent days.
You can get all the latest battleground states and general election polls here.
11:15 a.m.
Donald Trump is lashing out at the growing list of Republicans abandoning his candidacy, predicting that they’re the ones who will lose.
Trump on Sunday tweeted: “So many self-righteous hypocrites. Watch their poll numbers – and elections – go down!”
Trump has also been re-tweeting a series of messages from supporters, including one that lashes out at “GOP traitors!” and says not supporting is voting for “destroying America.”
Another says “‘Republican leadership’ should have only one job: Help elect the nominee we voted for, Donald J. Trump.”
Trump has faced a mass exodus of support in the wake of the release of crude video footage in which he brags about making unwanted sexual advances on women.
___
10:30 a.m.
Donald Trump backer Rudy Giuliani says Trump is embarrassed by the airing of a tape in which the Republican presidential nominee makes vulgar and predatory remarks about women.
But — in Giuliani’s words — “it seems to me, we should move on.”
The former New York City mayor tells ABC’s “This Week” that Trump is “very, very embarrassed and contrite about it.”
When asked whether Trump’s comments described sexual assault, Giuliani said “that’s what he’s talking about.” But Giuliani isn’t sure whether Trump was exaggerating, as “some men” do.
___
10:10 a.m.
A GOP senator says Republicans can’t win the White House with Donald Trump as their presidential nominee — and having him at the top of the ticket could drag down other Republicans.
Utah’s Mike Lee says Trump and his backers can cement a lasting legacy if he were to step aside, allowing Republicans to find a candidate who can bring together all elements within the party and defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Lee tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we’ve got candidates who can do it. There’s still time to do it, but we have to actually do it.”
Lee is among a growing number of Republicans who’ve called for Trump to step aside following the release of a recording in which Trump makes crude comments about women.
___
9:35 a.m.
Hillary Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine says a recording that captured crude language from Donald Trump reveals “a pattern of sexual assault” by the Republican presidential nominee.
Kaine tells CNN’s “State of the Union” that it’s “much more than words.”
Kaine notes that Trump has previously made disparaging remarks about women.
Kaine says: “There’s kind of a piece of the jigsaw puzzle missing in Donald Trump where he does not look at women and consider them as equal to himself.”
___
9:25 a.m.
Donald Trump is thanking Republicans who are standing by him.
Trump sent a tweet Sunday after a growing list of elected Republican officials have called on him to abandon his presidential campaign. That followed the release of a recording of Trump making vulgar comments about women.
Trump tweeted on Sunday morning: “Tremendous support (except for some Republican “leadership”). Thank you.”
In a posting Saturday evening, Trump praised supporters who turned up at a party unity rally in Wisconsin — an event that Trump was disinvited to by House Speaker Paul Ryan. The rally was in Ryan’s congressional district.
At the event, Ryan was booed and heckled by Trump supporters, who shouted “Shame on you!” and “You turned your backs on us!”
Ryan hasn’t withdrawn his endorsement.
___
9:15 a.m.
Donald Trump’s campaign says the Republican presidential nominee may describe Bill Clinton’s sexual history in criminal terms at Sunday’s debate.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Trump won’t hesitate to talk about “the women that Bill Clinton raped, sexually abused and attacked.”
Trump on Saturday retweeted a pair of postings by Juanita Broaddrick. Her accusations that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978 were never tested in criminal court. Bill Clinton has long denied the accusations.
Giuliani says Trump will cast Hillary Clinton’s “as the attacker” of women when she claims to be their champion.
The strategy comes as Trump reels from the release of his recorded description of his sexual aggression toward women. Giuliani says “both sides have sinned. So how about we put that behind us?”
He spoke Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
___
2:15 a.m.
Donald Trump is limping toward the critical presidential debate against Hillary Clinton without the backing of a growing group of Republican leaders.
Trump insists he’ll “never” abandon his White House bid despite calls for him to step aside after his vulgar descriptions of sexual advances on women were revealed.
Trump’s task in Sunday’s faceoff is enormous.
Even before the recording of his remarks were made public, the businessman was lagging behind Clinton after an undisciplined first debate. And he was struggling to overcome deep skepticism among women about his temperament and qualifications to be commander in chief.
Trump has hinted he may turn the debate into a referendum on Clinton’s marriage — namely her husband’s extramarital affairs and her treatment of the women who were involved.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.