IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Poll: Clinton Maintains Big Lead as Voters Doubt Trump's Temperament

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 9 points — 50 percent to 41 percent — in the latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll.
Image: Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Crown Arena, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, in Fayetteville, N.C.Evan Vucci / AP

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 9 points — 50 percent to 41 percent — in the latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll.

The numbers were virtually unchanged since last week’s poll. Generally low favorability and negative attitudes among voters plague both candidates, however, as they make appeals to voters in key swing states in the weeks ahead.

A majority of voters continue to hold unfavorable impressions of both current nominees; Clinton’s negative feelings were held by slightly less voters (59 percent) than Trump (64 percent). These results are according to the latest from the NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll conducted online from August 8 through August 14, 2016 among registered voters.

Clinton continues her lead over the field in a four-way general election match-up with 43 percent against Trump (37 percent), Libertarian Gary Johnson (11 percent) and Green party candidate Jill Stein (4 percent).

Though Clinton’s lead over Trump remains significant following the convention, a closer look at voter attitudes reveals that many still harbor negative feelings about both candidates. When asked to select all the qualities that describe each candidate including options for honesty, values and temperament, majorities of voters chose “none of the above” to describe both candidates.

Clinton’s high point, however, is her perceived leadership strengths and ability to serve the country’s interests well. Her campaign has consistently emphasized her leadership qualities and worked to draw a stark contrast between her and Trump on issues of national security. Her campaign’s efforts may be working well as more than four in 10 voters said she has the personality and temperament to serve effectively as president. This includes 78 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaners and 25 percent of Independents who don’t lean toward any party.

Trump scores much lower. Just 17 percent of all voters say that Trump has the personality and temperament to serve effectively as president. Even among Republican and Republican-leaners, only 36 percent said Trump has the personality to serve effectively.

These results come after 50 Republican national security advisers issued a letter stating that none of them would vote for the Republican candidate because he lacks the character and experience to be president.

Unsurprisingly, Trump does better than Clinton in the honesty category, but she still does not score particularly high marks. Just 16 percent of voters say that Trump is honest and trustworthy, but only 11 percent believe the same about Clinton. Even among Democrats and Democratic-leaners of her own party, just 23 percent say she is honest and trustworthy, whereas 35 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaners say Trump is honest and trustworthy.

These numbers indicate that the post-convention bounce for Clinton is more likely a shift in the race. Her lead has been nearly unchanged for the past three weeks. Still, voters don’t feel particularly positive about their general election choices.

Correction: A SurveyMonkey processing error led to the presentation of incorrect numbers for sub-group breakdowns on two multiple-select questions. The numbers have been corrected..

The NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking poll was conducted online August 8 through August 14, 2016 among a national sample of 15,179 adults who say they are registered to vote. Respondents for this non-probability survey were selected from the nearly three million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Results have an error estimate of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points. For full results and methodology, click here.