Poll: Clinton lead narrows in PA, but not because of email controversy

WASHINGTON -- The presidential race is getting tighter in Pennsylvania -- but not because of the renewed attention on Hillary Clinton's emails, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Wednesday.

Clinton, a Democrat, holds a four point lead over Republican Donald Trump heading into the final days of the presidential campaign -- 48 percent to 44, the poll found -- down from her 10 point advantage in October. (A CNN poll released Wednesday found an identical 48-44 split in Pennsylvania).

The poll, however, found little impact from the news Friday that the FBI has renewed its investigation of emails related to Clinton's time as secretary of state. The survey, conducted this week, found that only 4 percent of likely voters said the development caused them to change their minds, and their shifts changed the margin in the presidential race by no more than one percentage point, the poll found.

"It looks like this shift was in the works even before Friday's FBI bombshell, which has made only a small contribution to this overall narrowing," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

The survey also found a narrow advantage for Democrat Katie McGinty in the state's critical U.S. Senate race. She leads Republican Sen. Pat Toomey 47 percent to 44 -- a slight shift from the October poll, which found the race tied. (CNN found McGinty with a five percentage point lead).

In the Monmouth poll, the leads for both Clinton and McGinty are within its 4.9 percentage point margin of error.

The poll found huge advantages for both Democrats in the southeastern part of the state, where races are often won and lost. In the seven Congressional districts that cover Philadelphia and its neighboring suburbs, Clinton leads 62-29. McGinty has a 57-34 edge in the region.

The Republicans fare better in the northeastern, central and western parts of Pennsylvania.

Trump has made huge gains in the western portion -- leading 54 to 38 after trailing by three percentage points last month.

Toomey has his biggest advantage in northeast and central Pennsylvania, leading 54 to 40 there. He has also gained ground there since October.

The poll surveyed 403 likely voters from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.

You can follow Tamari on Twitter or email him at jtamari@phillynews.com.