Republican nominee for president of the United States Donald Trump continues to trail Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll that was released on Saturday night. The poll, which was conducted from September 5-8 and included a random national sample of 1,002 adults, had a margin of sampling error of 3.5 percentage points. Participants were reached by cellular and landline phones.
“Clinton holds a 46 percent to 41 percent edge over Trump among likely voters, followed by Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson at 9 percent and the Green Party’s Jill Stein at 2 percent. Clinton’s lead swells to 10 percentage points among the wider swath of registered voters, 45 percent to 35 percent, similar to her 45 percent to 37 percent edge last month. The findings come at a time when the margins between Clinton and Trump have narrowed in some battleground states and when some national polls also have shown a tightening in the competition.”
Since Clinton’s current lead of five percentage points is above the margin of sampling error of 3.5 percentage points, she should be considered in the lead. Gary Johnson has garnered interest over the past few months, but it is unlikely that he is going to be invited to participate in the upcoming debates. Jill Stein has even less of a chance, and the only question is whether her supporters are going to move to Trump or Clinton.
New poll shows Hillary Clinton holds a 46% to 41% lead over Donald Trump https://t.co/VV1Rfy3SIS pic.twitter.com/uW9hCl80Is
— CNN (@CNN) September 11, 2016
While polls taken via phone calls have been viewed as more accurate, some have speculated that the opposite may be true when it comes to Trump. Since many potential voters may be reluctant to tell a live person that they support Trump, his numbers may actually be artificially lower on polls done over the phone.
As the Washington Post notes, many other polls are showing a tighter race between both candidates. As The Inquisitr previously reported, Trump actually led Clinton 40 percent to 39 percent in a recent Reuters /Ipsos poll that was conducted from August 26 to September 1. While Clinton regained a slight edge in that poll over the past week, both candidates should be considered even when taking the margin of sampling error into account.
Regardless of Trump’s recent boost in favorability polls, Clinton is still more likely to win the election. As The Inquisitr recently reported, the latest Reuters /Ipsos States of the Nation project says that Clinton has an 83 percent chance of winning the election by 47 votes in the Electoral College. This percentage is down over the past few weeks, but she still has a fairly commanding lead over Trump.
Hillary Clinton axes California trip after falling ill at 9/11 memorial ceremony https://t.co/eiHDp5DMwA
— TIME (@TIME) September 12, 2016
While both candidates have their issues, Clinton’s health has been a hot topic over the past few months. Clinton’s camp has denied any serious issues, but the evidence is beginning to mount that there may be something wrong.
As Fox News reports, Clinton had to leave a 9/11 commemoration ceremony early.
“Hillary Clinton appeared to stagger and faint in footage showing her early exit from a 9/11 commemoration ceremony on Sunday, though Clinton’s doctor said the episode was a result of heat and dehydration — and revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days prior.”
In addition to the pneumonia, Clinton was seen apparently stumbling before entering a van.
“But a witness told Fox News that Clinton stumbled off the curb, her knees buckled and she lost a shoe as she was helped into a van during her unexpected early departure.”
While the stumbling and pneumonia are harmless on the surface, other theories regarding Clinton’s health have sprung up over the past few months from numerous news outlets. As Time reports, some of the suspected conditions that conspiracy theorists have come up with include seizures, Parkinson’s, heart disease, and multiple sclerosis.
Whether or not Clinton actually has a serious illness is unknown, but it could affect how undecided voters view her. November’s election is now less than two months away, and the polls between both candidates should remain fairly close. Regardless, Trump has a lot of work to do if he has any hope of garnering more electoral votes than Clinton.
[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]