Donald Trump arrives to speak during an address to the National Association of Home Builders. (Getty)
In a new poll released on Thursday, Donald Trump is only two points ahead of Hillary Clinton in the deep red state of South Carolina.
The survey, released on August 11th by Public Policy Polling, shows Donald Trump polling at 41 percent, while Hillary Clinton scores 39 percent. This two point difference is within the poll’s margin of error. Libertarian Gary Johnson took five percent of the vote, while the Green Party’s candidate, Jill Stein, earned two percent.
For comparison, a Public Policy Polling survey conducted in August 2012 showed Mitt Romney ahead of Barack Obama by 15 points. He ended up winning the state by 10 points.
South Carolina is historically one of the most Republican states in the nation; in the 1964 election, it was one of only six states to vote for Barry Goldwater, who was considered to be too extreme for the majority of the country. No Democratic candidate has carried South Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney quite handily won South Carolina with a 10 point lead, as did John McCain, who beat Barack Obama by nine points in the state.
This is yet another red state in which Hillary Clinton is doing much better than expected, suggesting that a few traditionally Republican states could vote for the Democratic candidate this year. A recent poll showed Clinton ahead in Georgia, which has gone red in every election since 1992. She’s also beginning to compete with Trump in Arizona, a state no Democrat has won in 20 years.
The new Public Policy Polling survey found that Clinton performs significantly better with those under 65 than Trump. Among those South Carolina residents 64 or younger, Clinton is beating Trump 41 percent to 36 percent. Meanwhile, among the state’s seniors, Trump is beating Clinton 58 percent to 30 percent.
The survey also found that Clinton is performing better with Democrats than Trump is with Republicans. Clinton won 84 percent of the Democratic vote in the poll, while Trump won 77 percent of the Republican vote. Both candidates have high unfavorable ratings in the state, though, with the perception of Trump being 56 percent negative and the perception of Clinton being 55 percent negative.
Finally, Public Policy Polling found many South Carolinians hold relatively progressive views on certain issues, with 84 percent of voters favoring background checks on all gun purchases, 77 percent favoring an increase in the minimum wage, and 53 percent favoring legislation protecting LGBT citizens from discrimination in the workplace.
