Political cacophony falling on deaf ears, pollster says

Benghazi.
Misogyny.
Missing emails.
A border wall.

From political pundits to Facebook feeds, what presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump say — and what is said about them — has made the 2016 presidential campaign a never-ending cycle of finger wagging.

But at this point, does any of it really matter?

“Nothing, and I mean nothing, will sway my vote,” said Brenda Taddeo of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and a Trump supporter. “He's outspoken — some say rude because he has actually says what some people think but are afraid to say — and we really need someone who is not going to sugar coat what's really wrong."

Peter Lane, a 21-year-old student at Bard College in Annandale-On-Hudson, N.Y., contends his support for Clinton also is unwavering despite negative claims against her. Trump has shown himself to be “not a nice person” who is “unfit for the presidency,” making a vote for him “morally irresponsible,” Lane said.

In the past few days, both presidential candidates have faced backlash:

• Trump, a Republican, for his comments in a 2005 video from Access Hollywood about groping and kissing women that was came out Friday.
• Clinton, a Democrat, faced hacked excerpts of speeches she gave to Wall Street companies that showed conflicts with her public positions.

Such controversies culminated Sunday in the second of three presidential debates before Nov. 8's Election Day.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted after the Trump video made news but before Sunday's debate, showed Clinton leading Trump 46% to 35% in a four-way race among likely voters.

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Meanwhile, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll, which focused on two swing states, showed Clinton leading Trump 45% to 42% in a four-way match-up among likely voters in Florida, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate. In Pennsylvania, Clinton led Trump 49% to 37%.

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein each receive single-digit support, according to the Marist Institute for Public Opinion poll, which was completed before the latest round of controversies and before Hurricane Matthew affected Florida.

Even in this "very odd campaign season, ... I think people are set in their preferences" at this point, said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. "These are two very, very well known candidates," neither of whom are "particularly well liked. I think it's all about turnout and motivation."

Early voting already has begun in some states.

"Right now, this is a dire situation for Trump," Miringoff said. Even if he wins Ohio, "Trump pretty much has to win Florida as one of his few pathways" to the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency.

Clinton "can lose Florida and still win" the necessary electoral votes, he said. "This is such a topsy-turvy race."

As far as voter turnout, "the Clinton ground game supposedly is superior," Miringoff said. "They invested in the critical battleground states. Trump has been slow to get started." And there seems to be a "greater sense on the part of the voters that the stakes are very high, in part because there is really very little in the way of middle ground."

Voters can be motivated by positive feelings for a particular candidate or fear for another candidate, Miringoff said. In Clinton's case, polls show her supporters "are more positive to her than negative to Trump.

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The opposite is true for Trump: More Trump supporters are motivated by their dislike of Clinton rather than positive feelings for Trump, the pollster said.

Taddeo said she's backing Trump because of his stance on creating a stronger military, the heroin crisis, stopping corrupt politicians, illegal immigration, and “the war against our police officers."

“He is a flawed man, I admit, but none of us is perfect. He has great kids and to me, that says a lot, too,” Taddeo said.

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Lane originally supported Bernie Sanders but said he will vote for Clinton as his “political stance very closely aligns” with hers.

“There’s not a candidate, either in the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, who (Trump) hasn’t used and abused,” Lane said. “His policy statements, which usually range from incoherent to nonexistent, are also just horrific."

Follow Abbott Brant and Nina Schutzman on Twitter: @AbbottBrantPoJo and @PoJoNSchutzman