A new poll released Thursday by Public Policy Polling gives Hillary Clinton a six point lead in Colorado, Virginia and Pennsylvania, affirming -- at least for now -- the Clinton camp's apparent confidence here.
After suspending most TV advertising here over the summer, Clinton has not yet picked up her ad spending in Colorado, even as Donald Trump plans major ad buys.
Polls had narrowed to within a point or two, with some polls showing Trump ahead, in the weeks before the first debate, but in this post-debate poll, Clinton leads Trump 46 percent to 40 in a four-way race that includes Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Johnson gets 6 percent and Stein gets 2.
The polls find Clinton ahead 45 to 39 in Pennsylvania and 46 to 4o in Virginia.
Clinton is also up in North Carolina and Florida, but with a much narrower 2 point lead.
In a post yesterday afternoon, before the Public Policy Polling report was released, FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver wrote both that he expected a post-debate bounce for Clinton and to be cautious with the initial post-debate polls. Polls conducted over a short time period can be less accurate because there is a lower response rate. Public Policy Polling surveyed likely voters on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The majority of voters surveyed thought Clinton won the debate and came off as much more prepared to be president.
The poll found that Clinton strengthened her support with voters under 30 after the debate. In Colorado, 50 percent of them said they planned to vote for Clinton, compared to 27 percent for Trump and 15 percent for Johnson. Stein polled 2 percent.
Colorado is considered a crucial state for Clinton to win.
