The latest CBS News battleground tracker poll has Hillary Clinton slightly leading Donald Trump overall, but her dismal support among independent voters is no doubt sounding alarm bells at her campaign headquarters.
Trump now leads Clinton among independents 44 percent to 28 percent. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson has 11 percent and Green nominee Jill Stein has 5 percent.
More worrisome for Democrats, 67 percent of independents were either “pessimistic” or “scared” after Clinton’s acceptance speech at the Democratic convention.
Seven out of ten independents say Trump, not Clinton, would bring “change” to Washington. More than half say he would also be better on handling the economy and keeping the country safe from terrorism.
Independents can play a key role in determining which way a battleground state tips. Democrats point out that Mitt Romney received more independent votes in 2012, but still lost because the Obama campaign was far superior in identifying and mobilizing their supporters to the polls.
Overall, Clinton received a slight bump across the battleground states after her convention. Clinton has 43 percent support to Trump’s 41 percent. Trump had led 42 percent to 41 percent last week.
The battleground tracker polls voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Our new electoral vote prediction, including the battleground states, can be found here.