clinton-trump.jpg

The latest Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll shows Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holding a narrow lead over Republican opponent Donald Trump.

(PennLive.com file photos)

The latest poll results show Democrat Hillary Clinton with a narrow lead over Republican Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, one of the key states that appears to be up for grabs in this year's presidential race.

The Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll shows Clinton topping Trump 44 to 39 percent with 9 percent for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 3 percent for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

The independent poll, conducted between Aug. 29 and Sept. 7 with a 3.5 percent margin of error, found women in Pennsylvania backed Clinton 54 to 39 percent, down from 59 to 36 percent last month. Men backed Trump 48 to 41 percent, compared to 49 - 44 percent last month.

"What was a comfortable 10-point Hillary Clinton cushion in Pennsylvania is now a five-point lead. Where did those five points go?" asked Tim Malloy, the poll's assistant director. "You have only to look at the female demographic, as Clinton's bedrock support among women wobbled in the span of a few weeks."

Malloy added: "Pennsylvania, so crucial and looking like the most solid swing state for Hillary Clinton is back in play."

The other states that the poll on the presidential race focused on were Florida, which had Clinton and Trump in a head-to-head contest, tied at 47 percent; North Carolina had Clinton with 47 percent and Trump with 43 percent; and Ohio where Trump was nosing ahead of Clinton, 46 percent to 45 percent.

In the race for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat that is up for grabs, the poll showed that race too is neck and neck.

Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey had support from 46 percent of those polled, to Democratic challenger Katie McGinty's 45 percent. This is a change from Quinnipiac's Aug. 11 poll results that had McGinty at 47 percent and Toomey at 44 percent.