Katie McGinty Pat Toomey

Polls show Katie McGinty gaining steady leads over incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.

(PennLive file photos)

Is Katie McGinty riding the coattails of Hillary Clinton's post-convention bump?

Four new polls from the past two weeks show McGinty leading Republican incumbent Pat Toomey, results that coincide with Clinton's Pennsylvania polling surge after Democratic National Convention.

A Quinnipiac poll released yesterday found McGinty leading Toomey 47-44 percent among likely voters in Pennsylvania. Just a month ago, Quinnipiac polls had Toomey 10 points ahead.

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows wide gender and racial disparities in McGinty's support base. Women favor her 52-38 percent, while men back Toomey by 51- 41 percent. 51 percent of white voters favor Toomey compared to 42 percent for McGinty, but African American voters support the Democrat 71 - 12 percent.

McGinty has never held elected office, but "this first-timer is giving the incumbent a run for his money," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

McGinty led Toomey 44-48 percent in a NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released this Tuesday, and 42-40 percent in a Susquehanna poll from Monday. The polls show steady gains for McGinty, who led by only one point (39-38) in a Franklin & Marshall poll last week.

"With less than 100 days until the election, Katie's message continues to resonate with Pennsylvania voters," said campaign communications assistant Izzi Levy, who predicts that "McGinty momentum will continue to grow" this fall.