Survey: Clinton leading over Trump but neither will make for a good president

Washington: Hillary Clinton has a lead of nine points over her Republican rival Donald Trump with roughly four-in-ten voters saying it is difficult to choose between them because neither would make a good US president, , according to a latest survey by a nonpartisan American think tank. In a two-way contest, 51 percent of registered voters support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Clinton or lean towards her while 42 percent support or lean towards presumptive Republican presidential nominee Trump, Pew Research Center said in its latest survey yesterday. [caption id=“attachment_2869474” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. AP[/caption] However, the overall satisfaction with the choice of candidates is at its lowest point in two decades, it said. Currently, fewer than half of registered voters in both parties, 43 percent of Democrats and 40 percent Republicans, say they are satisfied with their choices for president, the survey said. Roughly four-in-ten voters (41 percent) say it is difficult to choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton because neither would make a good president, as high as at any point since 2000. Just 11 percent say the choice is difficult because either would make a good chief executive, the lowest percentage during this period, it said. The survey was conducted between 15-26 June among 2,245 adults, including 1,655 registered voters. According to survey results, just 27 percent of Americans say the campaign is “focused on important policy debates”, which is seven points lower than in December, before the primaries began. Clinton holds a wide 66 percent-24 percent advantage among Hispanic voters. This is at par with President Barack Obama’s lead among Hispanics at similar points in the past two campaigns. When it comes to the issues at the forefront of voters’ minds, the economy tops the list, with 84 percent of voters –and similar shares across most demographic and political groups – saying it is very important to their vote. While as many as 80 percent say the issue of terrorism will be very important to their vote, the survey said. Clinton is widely viewed as more personally qualified and possessing better judgement than Trump, it said. “However, neither candidate has an advantage on honesty with 40 percent saying the phrase “honest and truthful” better describes Clinton, while 37 percent say it applies more to Trump and 20 percent thinks that it better describes neither candidate,” it said. The survey further added that 77 percent of voters say Trump would change the way things work in Washington, compared with just 45 percent who say the same about Clinton. “But more voters say Trump would change things for the worse than for the better (44 percent to 33 percent). A quarter of voters say Clinton would change Washington for the worse while 20 percent say she would change things for the better,”.