--- title: Poll: Hillary Clinton Leads Donald Trump After Second Debate description: Republican voters are in a tight spot over what party should do about Trump. canonical: https://time.com/4527825/poll-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-post-debate/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-12T14:04:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:29.626Z article:section: Politics og:title: Poll: Clinton Leads Trump By 8 Points After Second Debate og:description: GOP voters are in a tight spot over what to do about Trump. og:url: https://time.com/4527825/poll-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-post-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe047b0bdcb55a45/6988a9a697cdff42396ae251/hillary-clinton-leading.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton Holds Ohio Campaign Rally og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Poll: Clinton Leads Trump By 8 Points After Second Debate twitter:description: GOP voters are in a tight spot over what to do about Trump. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe047b0bdcb55a45/6988a9a697cdff42396ae251/hillary-clinton-leading.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Poll: Hillary Clinton Leads Donald Trump After Second Debate > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 12, 2016 2:04 PM UTC  Hillary Clinton prepares to speak during a campaign event in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 10, 2016. Hillary Clinton prepares to speak during a campaign event in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 10, 2016. Ty Wright—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 12, 2016 2:04 PM UTC Hillary Clinton now [leads Donald Trump](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-poll-idUSKCN12B2PV) by eight points among likely voters, according to a national tracking poll released Wednesday. The new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that after Sunday’s second presidential debate and the [leaked video of lewd comments](http://time.com/4523755/donald-trump-leaked-tape-impact/) he made regarding women in 2005, Republican voters are in a tight spot. One in five GOP voters say that his comments about women disqualify Trump from the presidency, while 58 percent say they would like Trump to remain at the top of the ticket and 68 percent said that party leadership should stand by their nominee. Trump on Tuesday declared that he had [taken the “shackles” off](http://time.com/4526316/donald-trump-takes-the-shackles-off/), before later [going on the offensive](http://time.com/4527497/donald-trump-oreilly-factor-paul-ryan-john-mccain/) about House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders. Clinton’s lead has [continued to grow](http://time.com/4525282/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-poll-tape-leak/), last week she led Trump by five points. Now, 45% of likely voters choose Clinton and 37% choose Trump, with another 18% declining to support either. Among debate watchers, some 53% said Clinton came out on top Sunday while 32% felt that Trump won. These results were rather partisan, as 82% of Democrats chose Clinton, while 68% of Republicans picked Trump. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online among 2,386 Americans, including 1,605 likely voters. 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