Politics

Hillary sinks to third place among independent voters: poll

It looks like Hillary Clinton can’t swing the crucial swing vote.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee took a beating from independent voters in the latest Fox News poll, finishing third behind relatively unknown Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.

GOP candidate Donald Trump led among independents with 32 percent of the vote, followed by Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico, who got 23 percent.

Clinton pulled in just 22 percent of the independents — a sign many voters are skeptical of the scandal-scarred former first lady and ex-secretary of state.

“This is very bad news for Hillary Clinton,” Republican strategist Susan Del Percio said. “She needs independents to win in November.”

The poll, released Friday, gave Clinton a 3-point national lead overall. She bested Trump 42 percent to 39 percent in a theoretical matchup. But Clinton’s lead is within the Fox poll’s margin of error.

The poll also showed a drop in overall support for Trump, Del Percio noted.

“Both candidates must start to broaden their support beyond their base, and hope that Governor Johnson’s campaign on the Libertarian line does not gain steam.”

Another pollster said Johnson voters could prove pivotal this election year.

“Don’t underestimate the importance of the Libertarian vote,” said Tim Malloy of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

“They are not on the fence — they are not going to budge. And they could make all the difference in a close election.”

Fox’s poll found equal levels of party loyalty among Democrat and Republican responders — so winning independents could equal victory in November.

Meanwhile, in a Harris Poll of unemployed people released last week, half said they prefer one of the major parties’ presumptive nominees: 27 percent plan to vote for Clinton and 23 percent favor Trump.

Overwhelming majorities said they feel insecure (76 percent), angry (72 percent), or desperate (71percent).