NEW YORK - US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has reached within 2 percent of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, a new poll shows.
The Fox News poll released on Wednesday showed that in terms of national support Clinton was leading the billionaire businessman 41 percent to 39 percent.
Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson scored a healthy 9 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein took 4 points. In a heat-to-head match-up, however, Clinton held a 6-point edge over Trump and led him 48 percent to 42 percent.
That still marked a significant fall from the last iteration of the same poll earlier this month, where Clinton was enjoying a 10-point lead.
The poll attributed the former secretary of state’s declining support to Johnson and Stein’s growing popularity among voters which had mostly happened at the expense of Clinton.
This is while a RealClearPolitics national polling average also put the former first lady ahead by less than five points.
Despite the tightening race in polls, Clinton and Trump still remain two of the most unpopular candidates to have ever run for the White House.
According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post released Wednesday, Clinton’s unpopularity among American voters has reached a new high, putting her on par with her Republican rival.
Among all adults, 56 percent now have an unfavorable view of Clinton, an increase of 6 points in three weeks, compared to 63 percent who have the same view about Trump.
Among registered voters, the two nominees have near-identical unfavorable ratings - 59 percent for Clinton and 60 percent for Trump.
This ranks them as the two most unpopular US presidential nominees in more than 30 years. Trump’s campaign has been marked by controversy from the beginning, including disparaging remarks about women, Mexican immigrants and Muslims.
Clinton has also lost many of her Democratic supporters after knocking out her primary rival Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders with the help of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She has also come under fire for using a private server to exchange thousands of work-related emails during her tenure as secretary of state.
