Poll: Trump only ahead by 6 in Texas

Hillary Clinton is within 6 points of Donald Trump in Texas, according to a new poll released Tuesday, as the Democratic presidential nominee continues to make inroads in traditionally red states.

Trump, the Republican nominee, has 44 percent support in the state to Clinton’s 38 percent, according to a survey by the liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP).

{mosads}The Lone Star State has gone Republican in the last nine presidential elections.

The result is the latest in a string of poor poll numbers for Trump. Recent surveys have shown him down big in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia, and trailing by smaller margins in Ohio and Florida. 

He also has been getting slimmer-than-expected leads in traditional GOP states such as Georgia, Arizona and Utah. 

The formerly deep-red Texas has been on Democratic wishlists for years, as the party believes the increasing Hispanic population will eventually flip the state into Democratic hands. 

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson had 6 percent support, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein had 2 percent. Evan McMullin, the former GOP House staffer who just announced his independent bid, polled at 0 percent.

Clinton had huge edges among young and nonwhite voters, the poll found. She led Trump by 52 points with nonwhite voters and by 25 points with voters under 45 years old.

Both nominees face big unfavorable numbers in Texas. Trump had a negative 13-point favorability rating, while Clinton’s was negative 23 points.

Seventy-one percent of Trump supporters said they thought Clinton could only win the general election if it was rigged. And more of the businessman’s backers disagreed than agreed with his assertion that President Obama “founded” the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said Trump should release his tax returns. The GOP nominee’s campaign has said it doesn’t plan on releasing them before the election.

The poll asked respondents who they would choose between Obama and Trump for president. Trump won that head-to-head by 2 points — a slimmer margin than his lead over Clinton.

The PPP poll of 944 likely voters was conducted Aug. 12–14. The margin of error was 3.2 percentage points.

A poll released by KTVT-CBS 11 last week showed Trump more safely ahead in Texas, leading Clinton by 11 points.