Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are in a virtual dead heat in the race for the White House on the eve of the first debate between the nominees, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll.
The survey among likely voters split this way:
- Clinton: 46 percent
- Trump: 44 percent
- Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson: 5 percent
- Green Party nominee Jill Stein: 1 percent.
Among registered voters, support goes like this:
- Clinton: 41 percent
- Trump: 41 percent
- Johnson: 7 percent
- Stein: 2 percent.
The head-to-head match among likely voters between the Democratic and GOP nominees shows:
- Clinton: 49 percent
- Trump: 47 percent
In the two-way race, the pair are tied at 46 percent among likely voters, according to the survey.
The Washington Post notes the results illustrate the tightening of the race after each party's national conventions, noting Clinton led Trump by 8 points in early August, and by 5 points in early September.
The nominees' first debate will be held Monday at Hofstra University in New York – and according to the poll, the audience could be signficant, with eight in 10 voters saying they plan to watch.
Their predictions: 44 percent expect Clinton to win vs. 34 percent expecting Trump to come out ahead.
In other findings:
- 54 percent of men back Trump, and 55 percent of women support Clinton.
- White voters back Trump by 53 percent to 37 percent; nonwhite voters back Clinton by 69 percent to 19 percent.
- Trump leads Clinton by more than 4 to 1 among white men without college degrees, and by a smaller ratio among white women without college degrees and among college-educated white men.
- Clinton leads Trump by 57 percent to 32 percent among college-educated white women.
- 39 percent of registered voters have a favorable impression of Clinton; 57 percent have an unfavorable impression.
- 38 percent see Trump positively, 57 percent negatively.
The poll's margin of error overall is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points; among registered voters, the margin is plus or minus 4 points, and among likely voters, it's 4.5 percentage points.