Marriage Gap' Could Doom Trump in General Election

New polling shows the GOP front-runner massively trailing Hillary Clinton among unmarried women.

Americans may be heading for an "earthquake" election this November in which Democrats have the upper hand and Donald Trump, if he is the Republican presidential nominee, drags the GOP down to a massive defeat, according to a new poll.

Trump "has hit a wall in terms of electability," said Stan Greenberg, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. In a conference call with reporters Friday afternoon, Greenberg, a founder of Democratic-oriented research organization Democracy Corps, noted that unmarried women could make the difference in the general election because they are increasingly motivated to vote; they also are overwhelmingly in support of Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and deeply opposed to Trump.

In a Democracy Corps poll conducted by Greenberg and Nancy Zdunkewicz on behalf of the Women's Voices Women Vote Action Fund, the former secretary of state leads GOP front-runner Trump 73 percent to 21 percent among unmarried women – a vast margin of 52 points. Married women prefer Trump by a small margin, 48 to 45. Greenberg said this "marriage gap" among women is one of the most important trends of the campaign.

Clinton leads Trump among all voters by 13 points, 53 to 40, and she leads Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the other major GOP presidential candidate, by 6 points, 51 to 45. Some polls, however, give Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, the third Republican presidential candidate who is trailing badly for the nomination, a small lead over Clinton in a hypothetical matchup.

Greenberg said large swathes of the electorate are very unhappy with the direction of the country and favor big changes, including more action by the government to put the needs of everyday people over special interests. And Democrats are increasingly preferred to deliver that than Republicans, he said.

Trump remains popular among white working-class men, but this isn't enough to bring him victory, Greenberg argued.