A final poll in the long presidential race shows the contest tightening a bit in New York state, though Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton still leads Republican Donald Trump by double digits.
Siena College spokesman Steve Greenberg says while Clinton is still 17 points ahead of Trump in New York state, she’s lost ground in the past few weeks among independents.
He says Clinton and Trump are now tied among independents in the downstate suburbs.
The poll was conducted after the news that the FBI director James Comey was again examining some of Clinton’s State Department emails, after more messages were found during a criminal investigation of her top aide’s husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner. The poll, released Sunday, was also conducted before Comey said the FBI had completed its review of those emails and determined doesn’t change his decision earlier this year not to charge Clinton.
The survey of likely voters also finds that while Clinton lost points, incumbent Sen. Charles Schumer, also a Democrat, has actually picked up support. Schumer now leads his opponent Republican Wendy Long by 42 points, 67 percent to 25 percent. Long also ran against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2012, to an historic defeat.
“The real race is to see if Chuck Schumer can beat Wendy Long by more than Kirsten Gillibrand did four years ago,” said Greenberg. “He’s hovering on the outskirts of that now.”
The poll finds even 42 percent of Republicans are backing Schumer.
