CRN Poll: Trump Continues To Lead Clinton By Double Digits

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continues to garner more support from solution providers than Democratic rival Hillary Clinton has, outpacing the former secretary of sate in the latest monthly CRN survey on the presidential race.

The poll, which was taken by 208 solution providers from Sept. 6-26, revealed that 52 percent of those surveyed believe a Trump presidency would be better for business, a slight decline from the results of a similar poll in August, when 54 percent of participants chose Trump. The latest poll closed before Trump and Clinton faced off Monday night in their first debate of the campaign.

Comparatively, 38 percent of channel companies said a Clinton administration would be better for business, a slight rise from the 36 percent of the August poll participants who felt that way.

[Related: CRN Poll: Trump Surges Back Into The Lead Among Solution Providers]

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This month's 14-point gap between the New-York businessman and Clinton falls in line with average poll results reaching back to April. Since then, Trump has held an average lead of 14.3 percent over Clinton every month, which includes a tie between the two candidates in July.

Bob Gold, a sales account executive at El Segundo, Calif-based PCM, No. 28 on CRN's Solution Provider 500 list, believes Trump would be better for business because of the candidate's business background.

"Trump is a more experienced businessman and he understands how business is done better than his opponent," Gold said.

Trump speaks often about helping U.S.-based businesses over those based overseas, which Gold said is another reason he believes a Trump presidency would be better for business.

"But, every other part of him besides that, I feel he is a loose cannon," he added, noting that although he feels that Trump might be better for business, he is leaning toward voting for Clinton.

Meanwhile, a solution provider who requested anonymity said Trump's focus on turning away from international trade is one of the reasons he believes a Clinton presidency will be better for business.

"I think the ideas Trump has would not be helpful for business … his opinions on trade and his bombastic negotiating style makes me feel like Trump is putting up walls, which will make it difficult for small and medium businesses to do business overseas," he said.

Although Clinton has not put forth a specific plan that makes him believe her presidency would benefit business, he said he feels a Trump presidency would be disastrous for his company, which has clients in the U.K. and Germany, and has even worked with companies in China.

"I hate the feeling that I am making a defensive vote, but I really dislike Trump a lot," he said.

In a separate poll conducted by CRN, 64 percent of participants said they believed Clinton won Monday's debate, a number overwhelmingly larger than the 29 percent who believed Trump won and the 7 percent who said there was no winner.