AP Poll: Clinton Up 14 Points Nationwide

Hillary Clinton has climbed far ahead of Donald Trump in a new Associated Press poll that shows the Democratic nominee leading her Republican counterpart by 14 points.

In the AP national survey, which was released on October 26, likely voters selected Clinton over Trump by a margin of 51 percent to 37 percent. Though this poll is typically an outlier, with results that tend to favor Clinton more strongly than most other national surveys, the former secretary of state continues to lead the vast majority of polls by an average of more than five points, according to Real Clear Politics.

Most voters polled by AP not only favored Clinton but also predicted a victory for her, with a full 74 percent of respondents saying that they believe she will win the White House in November.

“I’m going to pick Hillary at the top and pick Republican straight down the line,” 71-year-old William Goldstein of New York, who voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, told the AP pollsters. “I can’t vote for Trump.”

Trump has won over some conservative-leaning supporters concerned about the Affordable Care Act causing spikes in health insurance premiums, but critics question whether Trump will be successful in extending an olive branch to win over women and minorities.

“Donald Trump has spent his entire campaign running against the groups he needs to expand his coalition,” said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, a former campaign adviser for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s bid for the presidency. Ayres called Trump’s campaign “strategically mindless.”

Despite the GOP nominee’s polling averages, both Trump’s and Clinton’s teams acknowledge that anything can happen on November 8.

“We have a couple of different paths to get to 270 and we’re actively pursuing them,” Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told MSNBC on October 26, notes AP.

Clinton’s campaign echoed the sentiment with concerns that too many Democratic voters might stay home on Election Day.

“Donald Trump said he could still win, and he could if our people get complacent,” Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said.

Sources: Associated Press, Real Clear Politics / Photo Credit: Hillary for Iowa/Flickr