As Justin reported on Tuesday, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a dead heat in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania, with the businessman beating the Democratic frontrunner in the former, and trailing her by only one point in the latter two.
But Democrats seem unfazed.
One unnamed Democratic strategist laughed off the polls in an interview with The Hill, saying, “It’s May — and I’m pretty sure no general election was ever decided in May.”
A former aide to Sen. Harry Reid more or less agreed, although he did admit “there is always reason to be nervous.”
“[F]olks shouldn’t read too much into these polls. There is a long way between now and November, and I continue to believe that Donald Trump is highly radioactive when it comes to the general election,” he said.
While both are correct to note that it is very early to look at May polling as any indication of how the race will shape up closer to the general election, it would be a mistake to make assumptions about the race given how unpredictable it’s been thus far. And this is particularly true for Democrats, who underestimated both the success of Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who Clinton is still struggling to shake.
On this point at least some Democrats seem to agree, even though they continue to believe Clinton will win the general election.
“A lot of Democrats, labor people, liberals, think this is a done deal,” Democratic strategist Brad Bannon told The Hill. “And I keep saying, ‘We have underestimated Trump before, don’t do it again.’ I, personally, am cautious. Trump has a way of reaching people’s emotional gut level that neither Bernie Sanders nor Hillary Clinton have."