Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton polls are taking center stage since he locked up the Republican nomination last week and the former Secretary of State is expected to get the Democratic nomination.
In the first battleground state polls to come out since Trump’s key victory in Indiana, Quinnipiac University shows the business mogul gaining ground on Clinton in Florida and Pennsylvania -- and beating the former secretary of state in always-critical Ohio.
But before you lose your mind over individual polls, heed our repeated warnings: Look at the polling averages and carefully consider the source.
Quinnipiac polls have shown a consistent Republican lean in comparison to other polls so far this year. They struggled in the primaries, according to Bloomberg’s poll ratings. Their previous polls in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania leaned more toward Trump than other surveys.
That said, some of the movement could be real. Trump as the presumptive nominee will unite some Republicans, even if many are still opposed to him. Clinton, meanwhile, is still in a primary fight with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Until we have more polls, and as long as Clinton is still battling Sanders, the general election numbers will be unstable. So don’t freak out about an individual poll result. Wait until June for more stability and in the meantime look at the polling averages. HuffPost Pollster’s averages show Clinton 3 points ahead in Florida, 1 point in front in Ohio and leading by 5 points in Pennsylvania.
It’s going to be a long six months. Print this out and tape it to your computer if you feel the need to panic over every poll:
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