Trump, Clinton running even in Missouri

Donald Trump has a 1-point lead over Hillary Clinton in Missouri, which hasn’t gone for a Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years.

{mosads}A Monmouth University survey released on Tuesday found Trump, the GOP nominee, taking 44 percent support over Democratic rival Clinton at 43 percent. Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson has 8 percent and 5 percent are undecided.

Missouri last went for the Democratic candidate in 1996, although the race there has been close in several recent elections. In 2008, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) defeated President Obama there by only one-tenth of a percentage point.

“The race was a squeaker the last time there was a vacancy in the Oval Office,” said Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray. “In that respect, this year looks more like 2008 than 2012 when [Mitt] Romney won the state by ten points.”

Both candidates are hugely unpopular. Only 32 percent view Clinton favorably, while 33 percent said they have a positive view of Trump. A majority of voters have unfavorable views of both candidates.

The survey found Trump and Clinton benefiting from strong support within their own parties. Trump has 87 percent support among Republicans, while Clinton has 88 percent support from Democrats.

Clinton leads among independents, 40 percent to 35 percent.

The Democrat runs up the margins among minority voters, leading by 65 points among black, Hispanic and Asian voters.

Trump makes up ground based on his strength with white voters, however, leading by 18 points among white women and by 8 points among white men.

That’s an odd dynamic, as most polls have found Trump doing better among white men than he does among white women.

The Senate race in the state is also close, with incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) running 5 points ahead of Democratic challenger Jason Kander, Missouri’s secretary of State.

The Monmouth University poll of 401 likely voters in Missouri was conducted between Aug. 19 and Aug. 22 and has a 4.9-percentage-point margin of error.