US presidential poll: Clinton's lead over Trump shrinks to two points

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump registers a surprise gain on rival Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton

Washington, Oct 29: Registering a surprise gain on rival Hillary Clinton's lead, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday shrunk the gap to only two percentage points in a new Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll, as core Republican groups returned to Trump's fold.

Likely voters split 47 per cent for Clinton and 45 per cent for Trump, according to the survey conducted on Monday through Thursday. That is little changed from a 48-44 split in Friday's results, but a substantial tightening since last weekend when Clinton led by a wide margin, Washington Post online reported.

A clear 59 per cent majority continues to expect Clinton to win on November 8, including more than 9 in 10 Clinton supporters, although the survey finds few signs that overconfidence is dampening enthusiasm.

Among likely voters, only 2 per cent who support Clinton and expect her to win say their prediction makes them less motivated to vote, including just 1 per cent of those who think she will win "easily".

A similarly small 2 per cent of Trump supporters who anticipate he will win say their expectation makes them less likely to vote.

Clinton's campaign has expressed concerns about complacency this week as it pushes supporters to turn out even as polls showed her with a comfortable lead, the Post added.

Saturday's result came after Friday's news that the FBI is looking into additional Clinton e-mails from her time as Secretary of State, an issue about which the public has been especially critical of her.

A September Washington Post-ABC News poll found 62 per cent of the public overall disapproving of her handling of questions about e-mail while Secretary of State, including 48 per cent who disapproved strongly.

National polls released this week have shown ranging sizes of Clinton's advantage.

Surveys by Fox News and Investor's Business Daily/TIPP each found Clinton up a narrow three percentage points among likely voters, while she led by nine points in separate CNBC and USA Today/Suffolk polls and by 14 points in an Associated Press-GfK poll.

IANS