Trump’s supporters renew battered hope

Supporters of Donald Trump have restated their commitment to support him to victory even as they admit he is lagging behind his contender, Hillary Clinton.

With barely two weeks to the polls, the supports said that although Clinton had a better chance, they would not give up on Trump, the BBC reports.

“We are behind. She has some advantages,” said his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who added: “We’re not giving up. We know we can win this.”

Recall that on Friday, Mr Trump made a rare admission that he could lose when he said he would not accept the election result if he lost.

New polls suggest Mrs Clinton remains well ahead nationally and in several battleground states.

Her campaign has predicted this is going to be “the biggest election in American history”.

Campaign manager Robbie Mook said “More people are going to turn out than ever before.”

Polling in Republican strongholds like Utah and Arizona suggest these states could back a Democrat for the first time in decades.

The polls may be wrong in Arizona but if they are correct, it may be the start of a Democratic trend that doesn’t just put the state in play in a Clinton 2016 rout scenario, it makes Arizona a legitimate swing state in coming elections.

“The demographics in the state are continuing to change,” says Arizona State University political science professor Richard Herrera. “If there is another increase in Latino voters, which there almost certainly will be, followed with an increase in party registrants, this could become a real battleground in future elections.”

For Democrats, that’s a dream scenario, giving them new and plentiful paths to electoral success.

For Republicans, it could mean the start of a long-term political nightmare.

NAN