Women boosting Hillary Clinton in battleground states: new poll

WASHINGTON — Women voters are helping Hillary Clinton build leads in the crucial battleground states, according to a new CBS Battleground Tracker poll released Sunday.

While national polls provide overall snapshots, the state surveys are more important because they show the path Clinton or Donald Trump have to building the 270 electoral votes it takes to win the White House.

In Nevada, Clinton is up six points. Usually Republican Utah is the state to watch in this unprecedented campaign, with independent candidate Evan McMullin, a Mormon who is basing his national campaign in Utah, at 20 percent. Clinton is at 20 percent and Trump at 37 percent.

The poll found trouble for Clinton over her emails. From CBS: “Despite the lead, the poll finds trouble for Clinton coming out of the week. Only 33 percent believe she tells the truth, and after the leaked emails, a majority of voters (55%) say the email contents make them feel she has different motives in private than in public. Fewer than half of voters feel she has the character required to be President. Still, 54 percent of voters think it is inappropriate for Trump to suggest he would try to put Clinton in jail if he wins.”

From CBS on the poll: “This CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker is a panel study based on 4,211 interviews conducted on the internet of registered voters in Nevada, Utah; and North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 in the battleground states; +/-5.7 in Utah; +/- 4.5 in Nevada.”