WASHINGTON _ If stamina is the deciding factor in the race between two of the oldest candidates ever for the White House, Donald Trump is winning.
Likely voters by 53-39 think Trump has more physical stamina for the job than Hillary Clinton, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. Overall, Clinton leads Trump in the election race by 48-41 in the new poll.
Trump, 70, who takes a cholesterol-lowering drug and is overweight, would be the oldest president ever to take the office.
Clinton, 68, would be the second oldest at inauguration, a few months younger than Ronald Reagan was in 1981.
She remained poised through an 11-hour grilling by the House Benghazi Committee last fall. But health questions were raised following video of her near-collapse abruptly leaving a 9/11 ceremony in New York this month and later revelation she was being treated this month for pneumonia.
Gender makes a huge difference in how voters see the stamina of the candidates.
Men by 59-29 said Trump has more stamina. Women by 50-46 gave Clinton the edge over Trump.
Party affliliation also dictates how voters view the stamina of the candidates. Ninety-four percent of Republicans said Trump has more stamina and 83 percent of Democrats picked Clinton.
Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion in New York, which conducted the nationwide survey, said doubts about Clinton's stamina could fade.
"I think between now and election day the vigor of the campaign will make those moments fade in people's memories. Barring any other health incident � which would be a real problem," he said. "All bets are off if that were to occur."
