Top Hollywood Democrats are feeling the pressure as polls show the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is quickly tightening heading into the final days before voters go to the polls.
“It’s terrifying,” L.A.-based Democratic strategist and Clinton supporter Donna Bojarsky told TheWrap. “The stakes are just so high.”
Bojarsky says Hollywood is divided into two groups of people at the moment: Those who can’t watch the political coverage anymore and those who can’t stop watching. “Some can’t watch anything,” she said. “They can’t sleep. Other people can’t seem to take their eyes off it.”
Clinton holds a slight edge in most national polls with five days until Election Day. According to a new New York Times/CBS News poll released Thursday, most voters have made up their minds with recent bombshell revelations about both candidates making “no significant difference to them.”
The poll shows Clinton leading Trump by three points, a six-point drop from two weeks ago, when Trump was embroiled in accusations from women claiming that he had made unwanted sexual advances toward them.
“I still have a couple of fingernails left,” said one prominent Clinton fundraiser who asked not to be named.
Bojarsky added, “When you have someone like Trump, who is an affront to everything you hold dear, it’s scary. He makes Mitt Romney look like Winston Churchill.”
The margin between Clinton and Trump is within the the New York Times/CBS poll margin of error. But Clinton is still better positioned to win the election. Five Thirty Eight put Clinton’s chance of winning the presidency at 65 percent. In order to win the race, Trump would not only have to win all of the remaining swing states, but also one of the so-called “blue states.”
But according to RealClearPolitics polling averages, that’s not impossible. Trump has caught up with Clinton in New Hampshire, with two Thursday polls showing both candidates locked in a dead-heat and a third showing Trump up by 5 points.
While Clinton is still in the lead, the pressure of the last 20 months is starting to take its toll, particularly on a community that has been at the epicenter of the election cycle. As one Hollywood Democrat told TheWrap: “You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Hollywood who hasn’t been to some kind of fundraiser for Hillary.”
“Intellectually you know she’s going to win,” said Bojarsky. “But everyone is terrified by the news.”
David Schneiderman, co-owner and founder of Seismic Productions and a prominent Clinton supporter, told TheWrap he’s “cautiously optimistic.”
“We’re all hoping for a bit of good,” he said. “We’re holding our breath and hoping for the best.”
And Dana Perlman, a lawyer and longtime Clinton fundraiser, said he always expected the race to be tight but that he too is somewhat concerned.
“To quote Mel Brooks, ‘We have high anxiety,’” he said. “Everybody is feeling it. More than anything, we’re worried people will be complacent. The most important thing now is getting people to the polls.”