News / Politics

Clinton’s lead over Trump shrinks to 4 points in national poll

Thursday, 18 August 2016 8:03 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 19 August 2016 4:26 AM ]

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters at a rally at John Marshall High School on August 17, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (AFP photo)

A new poll shows Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s lead over her Republican rival, Donald Trump, has shrunk to 4 points in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential race.

According to Pew Research Center poll, released on Thursday, the former secretary of state has 41 percent of the votes as compared to Trump enjoying a 37-percent support in a four-candidate match-up.

In that scenario, Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson earned 10 percent, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein bagged 4 percent.

Clinton holds a 19-percentage point lead among women, with 49 percent to 30 percent, but Trump is leading by 12 points among men, with 45 percent to 33 percent.

Clinton has a solid lead of 39 points over Trump among those with postgraduate degrees, 59 percent to 21 percent, and Trump leads 41 percent to 36 percent among those with some or no college experience.

A majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Trump, with 55 percent saying he would make a poor or terrible president, while 45 percent saying the same about Clinton.

Thirty-one percent say Clinton would make a good or great president, while 27 percent say the same of Trump.

Those who back Trump say, 81 percent to 11 percent, that life is worse now for US citizens than it was 50 years ago. However, Clinton supporters -- 59 percent -- say life is better than five decades ago and 19 percent say it is worse.

The poll was conducted from August 9 to 16 among a national sample of 2,010 adults, including 1,557 registered voters. The margin of error is 2.5 points for the total sample and 2.8 points for registered voters.