New polls show Hillary Clinton gaining ground in key swing states

New polls of the swing states conducted by Quinnipiac University show Hillary Clinton claiming leads in Virginia and North Carolina, but neck-and-neck with Donald Trump in Georgia and Iowa. Perhaps most importantly, however, the Quinnipiac results released Thursday are improvements across the board for Clinton from the previous Quinnipiac poll results released Sept. 22.

In the four-way matchup including Gary Johnson and Jill Stein in Virginia, Clinton led by 12 points, 50 percent to 38 percent. The last time Quinnipiac polled Virginia, Clinton's lead was much slimmer, at 45 percent to 39 percent. In North Carolina, Clinton's winning margin inched up, from 3 points on Oct. 3 to 4 points in Thursday's results, with the Democrat leading 47 percent to 43 percent.

In Georgia, the two candidates are locked in a statistical tie, with the GOP nominee edging Clinton 44 percent to 43 percent. This marks a big leap for Clinton, who trailed Trump by 7 points in the Peach State at the end of September. In Iowa, both Clinton and Trump snagged 44 percent — another big gain for Clinton, who trailed Trump there in September with 37 percent support to his 44 percent.

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"Time is running out and Donald Trump has lost his leads and now is tied with Hillary Clinton in Iowa and Georgia. North Carolina appears to be moving in her direction also," said Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director Peter Brown. "It's clear that Donald Trump has not worn well on the voters of these four key states," Brown added.

The polls were conducted by phone from Oct. 20-26. In Virginia, 749 likely voters were polled and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. In North Carolina, 702 likely voters were polled and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. In Georgia, 707 likely voters were polled and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. In Iowa, 791 likely voters were polled and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.