(CNN)The bounce is back.
Donald Trump comes out of his convention ahead
of Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House,
topp four-way matchup including Gary Johnson (9%)
and Jill Stein (3%) and by three points in a two-way
head-to-head, 48% to 45%. That latter finding
represents a 6-point convention bounce for Trump,
which are traditionally measured in two-way
matchups.
There hasn't been a significant post-convention
bounce in CNN's polling since 2000. That year Al
Gore and George W. Bush both boosted their
numbers by an identical 8 points post-convention
before ultimately battling all the way to the Supreme
Court.
The new findings mark Trump's best showing in a
CNN/ORC Poll against Clinton since September
2015. Trump's new edge rests largely on increased
support among independents, 43% of whom said
that Trump's convention in Cleveland left them more
likely to back him, while 41% were dissuaded. Pre-
convention, independents split 34% Clinton to 31%
Trump, with sizable numbers behind Johnson (22%)
and Stein (10%). Now, 46% say they back Trump,
28% Clinton, 15% Johnson and 4% Stein.
Donald Trump's plan to win the week
The poll also reflects a sharpening of the education
divide among whites that has been prevalent
throughout the campaign. Among white voters with
college degrees, Clinton actually gained ground
compared with pre-convention results, going from
an even 40% to 40% split to a 44% to 39% edge
over Trump. That while Trump expanded his lead
with white voters who do not hold a college degree
from a 51% to 31% lead before the convention to a
62% to 23% lead now.
Beyond boosting his overall support, Trump's
favorability rating is also on the rise (46% of
registered voters say they have a positive view, up
from 39% pre-convention), while his advantage over
Clinton on handling top issues climbs. He now
holds double-digit margins over Clinton as more
trusted on the economy and terrorism. Trump also
cut into Clinton's edge on managing foreign policy
(50% said they trusted her more, down from 57%
pre-convention).
The convention also helped Trump make strides in
his personal image. A majority (52%) now say
Trump is running for president for the good of the
country rather than personal gain, just 44% say the
same about Clinton. He's increased the share who
call him honest and trustworthy (from 38% to 43%),
and who would be proud to have him as president
(from 32% to 39%). And nearly half now say he's in
touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in
their daily lives (46% say so, 37% did before the
convention).
Despite Democratic criticism of the Republican
convention's message as divisive, the percentage
who say Trump will unite the country rather than
divide it has increased to 42%, compared with 34%
pre-convention.
Clinton's ratings on these same measures took a
hit, though in most cases her drop-off was not
quite as large as Trump's gain. Perhaps most
troubling for the Clinton supporters gathering in
Philadelphia this week: 68% now say Clinton is not
honest and trustworthy, her worst rating on that
measure in CNN/ORC polling.
Those positives for Trump come despite some
sharply negative reviews for the convention itself.
Almost 6 in 10 (58%) said the Republican
convention spent too much time attacking
Democrats, and 18% called Trump's speech
"terrible," the highest by far since CNN started
began the question in 1996. Still, 40% called the
speech excellent or good and about half of voters
(45%) said Trump's speech reflected the way they
feel about things in the U.S. today; 48% said it did
not reflect their views.
The public rendered a split decision on whether the
convention made them more or less likely to back
Trump, 42% said more likely while 44% said less
so, but the shift in voter preferences suggests the
"more likely" side carried more weight. And most
came away feeling ready to decide about Trump's
fitness for the job: 78% say they already know
enough to know whether he'd be a good president.
Another 20% think they need more information.
Two prominent convention speakers saw their stock
rise post-convention as well. Favorability ratings for
Trump's wife, Melania, climbed from 27% pre-
convention to 43% post-convention, despite news
that her Monday night speech contained passages
lifted from Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic
convention speech. Vice Presidential nominee Mike
Pence, whose Wednesday speaking slot was largely
overshadowed following Ted Cruz's defiant stand on
the convention stage, also bolstered the electorate's
impression of him, landing at a 39% favorable rating
overall, up from 26% pre-convention.
Cruz's move, however, appears to have backfired.
While 60% of Republican voters had a positive
impression of the former presidential candidate
before the convention, just 33% have one now.
The Trump campaign has claimed the visceral
negative reaction to Cruz reflected the unity the
party feels behind Trump himself. But the poll
suggests a large share of Republican voters still
need to be won over. The share of Republicans who
say their party is "united now" climbed from 16%
pre-convention to 24% post-convention, but about
half (49%) say it's not united now, but will be by
November, and there are still about a quarter who
say the party won't unite at all. Further, 45%
continue to say they'd prefer someone other than
Trump as the nominee.
The CNN/ORC Poll was conducted by telephone
July 22-24 among a random national sample of
1,001 adults. Results for the sample of 882
registered voters have a margin of sampling error of
plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
