Trump winning big in Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2016 Presidential campaign entered the home stretch on Monday as both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump focused on the battleground state of Ohio.
Meantime, the race in Indiana is all but over.
Donald Trump is popular in the state and the addition of Mike Pence to the GOP ticket has made him even more popular.
A new poll published by Reuters shows that Indiana is likely out of reach for Hillary Clinton. It shows Trump with 56 percent of the vote in Indiana if the election were held now. Hillary Clinton would receive just 32 percent.
That same poll shows Clinton with a 6 point lead nationally.
Donald Trump was campaigning near Cleveland and at a Labor Day roundtable when he started off by sharing poll numbers.
“Ohio,” he said. “Trump is leading 46 to 43.”
He’s concerned about states where the race is close and Indiana is off the list. Statistician Nate Silver, on his website fivethirtyeight.com, gave Trump a 95 percent chance of winning Indiana in November.
Mike Pence is a big reason why the GOP nominee does so well here.
“And I think Hoosier voters are looking at Governor Pence and they see him in a new light,” said Republican Mike O’Brien on Indiana Week in Review. “They see him in a different context. They see him in a national context and he’s popular because of it.”
But some Democrats are critical of Pence.
“He’s the chief pooper scooper is what he is,” said Democrat Ann DeLaney. “I mean all he’s doing is running behind trying to say, ‘He really didn’t mean what he said. He really didn’t mean what he said.’”
Trump is hoping that the Pence influence will carry over to Ohio. Pence was with him at a pair of campaign stops Monday.
In the meantime, Hillary Clinton greeted reporters on her new campaign plane and then made stops in Ohio and Illinois, quite literally flying over Indiana.
Mike Pence will be in Indianapolis Tuesday night for a fundraiser at the JW Marriott. He’ll be collecting cash from Indiana supporters that will be spent in other states.