Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup by 2 percentage points, 46-44, among likely voters in a national survey released on Thursday.
The CBS/New York Times national survey showed Clinton and Trump tied at 42 percentage points among likely voters in a four-way race including Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein. Johnson earned the support of 8 percentage points of likely voters and Stein had 4 points among likely voters.
Clinton’s slight edge on Trump expanded among registered voters surveyed in the poll. The Democratic nominee bested Trump by 5 percentage points, 46-41, among registered voters in a head-to-head matchup. And Clinton polled ahead of Trump by 2 percentage points, 41-39, among likely voters in a four-way race. Johnson earned the support of 11 percent of registered voters in the survey, bringing him nearer to the 15-percenatage-point threshold needed to make the presidential debate stage.
A greater percentage of Trump supporters surveyed were enthusiastic about the GOP nominee than Democrats who were excited about Clinton, but the Democratic nominee remains ahead of Trump among women, African-Americans, voters under 44-years-old, and college-educated voters.
The CBS/NYT poll surveyed 1,753 adults, including 1,433 registered voters, from Sept. 9-13 by landline telephones and cellphones.
The Commission on Presidential Debates selected the CBS/NYT survey as one of five polls that will determine who sets foot on the debate stage. The first debate is scheduled for Sept. 26 in New York.
