US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has taken an 8-percentage point lead over her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential race, according to a new poll.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, released on Friday evening, shows the former secretary of state has 42 percent of the votes as compared to the New York billionaire having only a 34-percent support. Another 23 percent wouldn't pick either candidate.
However, Clinton's lead over Trump slimmed slightly in a four-way match-up that included Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. She received 41 percent to his 34 percent. In that scenario, Johnson earned 7 percent, while Stein bagged 2 percent.
The poll was conducted from August 14 to 18 among a national sample of 1,118 of adults and 1,119 likely voters. The margin of error for both samples is 3 points.
Reuters noted that at this point of the race four years ago, President Barack Obama was leading his Republican challenger Mitt Romney by less than 2 points.
According to Pew Research Center poll, released on Thursday, 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.