Voters Prefer Trump on Economy, Clinton on Most Other Issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With the presidential election less than two months away, U.S. registered voters say Donald Trump is better able to handle economic issues -- such as employment and taxes -- than Hillary Clinton. However, these voters see Clinton as better suited than Trump on issues such as the treatment of minority groups, social issues, foreign affairs, education and immigration. Overall, of the 17 issues that Gallup asked registered voters about, Clinton leads Trump on 10.

	Prefer Hillary Clinton	Prefer Donald Trump	Advantage
	%	%	pct. pts.
The treatment of minority groups in this country	65	30	Clinton +35
Climate change	62	29	Clinton +33
Social issues such as gay marriage and abortion	63	33	Clinton +30
Foreign affairs	61	35	Clinton +26
Education	61	36	Clinton +25
Healthcare and the Affordable Care Act	56	41	Clinton +15
Immigration	55	42	Clinton +13
The distribution of income and wealth in the U.S.	50	44	Clinton +6
Trade with other nations	51	47	Clinton +4
Terrorism and national security	48	47	Clinton +1
The federal budget deficit	44	53	Trump +9
Government regulation of Wall Street and banks	43	52	Trump +9
The size and efficiency of the federal government	44	52	Trump +8
Gun policy	45	52	Trump +7
Taxes	45	51	Trump +6
Employment and jobs	47	51	Trump +4
The economy	47	50	Trump +3
Gallup, Sept. 14-18, 2016

While Clinton leads Trump on only three more issues total (10 for Clinton, seven for Trump), her average advantage far outpaces his. Clinton leads by an average of 19 percentage points, while Trump's average advantage is seven points.

The disparity in leads between Clinton and Trump in these policy spheres exceeds the gap between the major-party candidates in the two most recent presidential elections. In September 2008, John McCain led Barack Obama on six issues by an average of 12 points, while Obama led McCain on four issues by an average of nine points. In September 2012, Obama led Mitt Romney on seven issues by an average of 11 points -- driven largely by a 26-point advantage on social issues -- whereas Romney's lead on two issues averaged nine points.

Trump Weaker Among Republicans Than Clinton Is Among Democrats

Trump receives less support on these policy issues among registered Republicans than Clinton receives among registered Democrats. Republicans choose Trump over Clinton by an average of 71 points. Meanwhile, Clinton's advantage over Trump among Democrats across all policy spheres averages 81 points.

Among registered Republicans, Trump receives especially weak support on social issues, the treatment of minorities and climate change -- issues on which about three in 10 Republicans say Clinton is better suited. On economic issues -- such as taxes, the economy and the federal budget deficit -- Trump scores especially strongly among his political compatriots, with almost nine in 10 Republicans preferring him to Clinton.

Clinton's weakest point among registered Democrats is on the issue of government regulation of Wall Street and banks, on which slightly less than one-fifth of Democrats prefer Trump. However, in all other policy spheres, no fewer than eight in 10 Democrats say Clinton would be better able than Trump to handle the issue.

	Trump's advantage among Republicans	Clinton's advantage among Democrats	Advantage among independents
	pct. pts.	pct. pts.	pct. pts.
The distribution of income and wealth in the U.S.	72	82	Clinton +1
Immigration	74	87	Clinton +10
Healthcare and the Affordable Care Act	73	93	Clinton +10
Education	60	94	Clinton +28
Trade with other nations	74	72	Clinton +3
Foreign affairs	53	85	Clinton +33
Social issues such as gay marriage and abortion	46	88	Clinton +37
Climate change	35	87	Clinton +38
The treatment of minority groups in this country	43	96	Clinton +41
The economy	88	77	Trump +10
Employment and jobs	87	79	Trump +16
The size and efficiency of the federal government	87	72	Trump +16
Government regulation of Wall Street and banks	76	61	Trump +20
The federal budget deficit	88	72	Trump +21
Gun policy	85	78	Trump +21
Terrorism and national security	77	77	Trump +7
Taxes	88	70	Trump +8
Gallup, Sept. 14-18, 2016

Independents strongly prefer Clinton to Trump on the treatment of minority groups in the U.S. (+41), climate change (+38), social issues (+37) and foreign affairs (+33). On immigration -- an issue central to Trump's campaign -- independents choose Clinton over Trump.

Trump's advantages over Clinton among independents reflect some of his strongest issues among Republicans. He leads Clinton on the budget deficit (+21), gun policy (+21) and government regulation of Wall Street (+20). However, on issues where Trump leads Clinton among independents, he averages a 15-point advantage, compared with Clinton's 22-point average advantage on issues where she leads.

Clinton Leads Trump on Nearly All Issues Among Young Americans

Both campaigns have struggled to resonate with young Americans, as both candidates' favorable ratings are lowest among young voters. When 18- to 34-year-olds are asked which candidate they believe to be best suited to handle particular policy issues, younger voters largely prefer Clinton over Trump. For issues on which Clinton leads, her advantage averages 31 points. In fact, young adults choose Clinton over Trump on nearly all issues that Gallup asks about. The only issue where young voters choose Trump over Clinton is on the regulation of Wall Street and banks (+7).

	Prefer Hillary Clinton	Prefer Donald Trump	Advantage
	%	%	pct. pts.
Terrorism and national security	57	38	Clinton +19
Gun policy	50	47	Clinton +3
Immigration	67	30	Clinton +37
Healthcare and the Affordable Care Act	68	28	Clinton +40
Foreign affairs	72	25	Clinton +47
The federal budget deficit	51	47	Clinton +4
Education	75	22	Clinton +53
Social issues such as gay marriage and abortion	76	19	Clinton +57
Climate change	79	15	Clinton +64
Employment and jobs	52	45	Clinton +7
The economy	53	45	Clinton +8
The size and efficiency of the federal government	57	40	Clinton +17
Trade with other nations	60	38	Clinton +22
The distribution of income and wealth in the U.S.	60	36	Clinton +24
The treatment of minority groups in this country	81	16	Clinton +65
Government regulation of Wall Street and banks	44	51	Trump +7
Taxes	49	49	Tie
Based on 18- to 34-year-olds who are registered to vote
Gallup, Sept. 14-18, 2016

Bottom Line

Americans cite the economy and unemployment as some of the most important problems facing the country. While Trump leads Clinton among registered voters in terms of which candidate can best handle these issues, his advantage is relatively small. And among young adults, Clinton leads Trump by seven or eight points on these issues.

Trump, meanwhile, continues to emphasize his stance on immigration. "Immigration" is still one of the most frequently used words Americans use to describe what they've recently heard about Trump. However, registered voters overall and independents prefer Clinton to Trump on the immigration issue by margins of 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Sept. 14-18, 2016, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 1,033 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the total sample of 931 registered voters, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends.

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