Arizona’s tendency to vote Republican in presidential elections may shift in November.
A new poll released by the The Arizona Republic and Arizona State University shows Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump neck and neck in the state, with a sizable group of voters as yet undecided.
Clinton leads by a small margin, with 35.1 percent to Trump’s 33.5 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percent, the poll said.
The poll found that 22.9 percent of voters were still undecided, adding significance to recent efforts by both campaigns in Arizona.
It’s these undecided voters that have drawn the attention of both candidates, who are turning Arizona into a battleground state. Pollsters have said Arizona could look a bit more “purple” this election season.
Clinton’s campaign is operating 24 offices in Arizona with more than 200 staff and recently began airing ads. Trump has made five stops in the state, and he outlined his immigration platform in his most recent speech in Phoenix.
The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since 1952 was Bill Clinton, in 1996.
Trump was more popular than Clinton with Arizona’s male voters, while Clinton found more support with female voters and those aged 18-35. Trump led Clinton with voters over 51, while the poll found support for evenly split between the candidates for voters aged 36-50.
Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein polled at 6.9 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
The poll was a joint project between The Arizona Republic and ASU's Morrison Institute for Public Policy and Cronkite News.