According to the UPI/CVoter poll, Trump holds a significant advantage over Hillary Clinton on the question of who would do a better job of fighting terrorism. UPI file

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- As the nation approaches the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- and as national security takes center stage in the presidential campaign -- poll respondents believe Republican Donald Trump would be better at fighting terrorism than Hillary Clinton, data released Wednesday show.

The UPI/CVoter daily presidential tracking poll asked participants, regardless of whom they plan to support in the general election, which candidate would better handle the issue of terrorism. Overall, Trump was chosen by 49 percent; Clinton was named by 27 percent. Fifteen percent said neither of the candidates would handle the issue well.


While Clinton was favored narrowly on the topic by women, Trump's support among men -- particularly younger, white men -- buttressed his overall lead on the issue.

Trump was favored by 65 percent of men in the survey. He was also favored by 51 percent of low-income voters and 61 percent of white voters.

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Clinton, who has appealed more to women and minorities, found support on the question of terrorism in those groups. She edged Trump 37 percent to 36 percent among women overall. African Americans, who comprise Clinton's most reliable base of support, gave her an edge 54 percent to 23 percent. Hispanics also favored Clinton 38 percent to 24 percent.

Terrorism was second only to the economy when people were asked to name the issue most important to them in a separate UPI/CVoter question.

The terrorism issue will be top of mind Wednesday night, when both candidates face the first mutually televised event of the campaign, a forum by NBC News on military issues. Trump and Clinton are scheduled to appear in back-to-back question-and-answer sessions with members of the military.

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The UPI/CVoter daily presidential tracking poll is conducted online and no margin of error can be calculated. The poll's integrity interval is 3 percentage points. Respondents were asked about the terrorism issue specifically from Aug. 1 to 31. The sample size was 5,924 people.