LANSING – Bolstered by a strong performance in her first debate with Republican rival Donald Trump, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton now holds a substantial lead of 11 percentage points over the Republican, according to a poll released Thursday by Lansing-based EPIC/MRA.

Not quite a month ago, Trump had drawn within 3 percentage points of Clinton in another poll by EPIC/MRA. But the latest poll, conducted October 1-3 of 600 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, showed that not only had Clinton built on her lead, she had picked up support in most demographics.

The poll, commissioned by the Detroit Free Press, WXYZ-TV in Detroit, WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids and other media outlets, follows other polls released after the debate on September 26 by Clinton and Trump that also showed her winning that debate and picking up support.

The latest poll has already been factored into the odds Clinton will win Michigan by the FiveThirtyEight website, founded and run by East Lansing-native Nate Silver, which shows Clinton having an 86.5 percent chance of winning the presidential election in Michigan.

Should she win, it would mark the seventh consecutive presidential election won by a Democrat in the state. That winning streak followed five consecutive presidential election wins here by Republicans.

Nationally, FiveThirtyEight said that as of Thursday, Clinton had a 78.8 percent chance of winning the presidency.

The poll showed that, in a two-person matchup between Clinton and Trump, Clinton was favored by 46 percent of those asked while Trump was backed by 36 percent. Another 16 percent were undecided and 2 percent volunteered that they supported Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

In a four-person matchup that included Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Clinton was favored by 43 percent of those polled, while Trump was favored by 32 percent. Johnson got 10 percent support and Stein got 3 percent, with 12 percent undecided.

Clinton’s experience was cited as the main reason supporters were voting for her, though that only 15 percent. The main reason Trump was being supported, by 12 percent, was that he was a non-politician and had a business background.

A total of 75 percent of those polled said they had watched the first debate between the two (the second debate is scheduled for Sunday evening) and 61 percent said Clinton won while just 12 percent said  Trump won.

In terms of their overall favorability, Clinton had a total favorability of 40 percent with a 52 percent unfavorable view. However, just 27 percent saw Trump favorably while 66 percent gave him an unfavorable rating.

In contrast, President Barack Obama had a 54 percent favorability with a 42 percent unfavorable rating. Governor Rick Snyder had a 35 percent favorable rating compared to a 55 percent unfavorable rating.

According to the Free Press, of those polled, 23 percent said improving the economy and providing jobs was the most important issue, followed by 14 percent calling for improved education. Tied for third place at 10 percent were concerns about national security and terrorism, and dealing with stagnant wages and the rising cost of living.

The poll showed that 86 percent of black voters were backing Clinton, compare to 74 percent in the last poll, while just 2 percent were backing Trump.

She also led 41 percent to 32 percent among white voters. She leads among women voters 48 percent to 28 percent. Among the millennial voters she leads 44 percent to 22 percent (with Johnson getting 21 percent).

Even among voters with a high-school education or less, Clinton led 41 percent to 32 percent, the Free Press said. Finally, she regained a lead, a narrow lead, with independent voters, 27 percent to 24 percent.

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