Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 5 points in new national poll


In a four-way race including Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green candidate Jill Stein, Hillary Clinton has a 5-percentage-point lead over Donald Trump among likely voters, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Sunday. When looking at all registered voters, Clinton's 46 percent to 41 percent lead opens to a 10-point advantage, 45 percent to 35 percent. Johnson has the support of 9 percent of likely voters in the poll and Stein polls at 2 percent. Clinton's 10-point lead among registered voters is actually a 2-point improvement from last month's poll, though other recent national and swing-state surveys have shown a tightening race between Clinton and Trump.
The Washington Post/ABC News poll highlights the challenges and advantages each candidate has with less that two months to go until Election Day. At this point in the race, Trump's supporters are more enthusiastic about their candidate, more engaged in the election, and 93 percent of them say they are sure to vote, versus only 80 percent of Clinton backers. Clinton has a 75 percent to 13 percent lead over Trump among non-white voters, she is tied with him among college-educated white men, and leads him by double-digits among college-educated women, but Trump leads among all white voters, 50 percent to 36 percent. By 2 points, voters judge Clinton more honest and trustworthy than Trump, the poll finds.
Trump's problem with college-educated white men, a group the GOP has won in the past nine elections, "shows the scale of Trump's problem," says The Washington Post's Philip Bump. "His position in the polls has improved. But he continues to need to expand his base if he's to have a real shot at challenging Clinton's lead. Trump spent a month putting a focus on black voters and dallying briefly with softening his position on immigration in an apparent attempt to build a strong relationship with Hispanics. It didn't work." The poll was conducted Sept. 5-8 among 1,002 adults; the margin of error among registered voters is ±4 points and among likely voters, ±4.5 points. You can read the granular details at The Washington Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media