Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has taken a 5-point lead over her Republican opponent Donald Trump, in a national poll taken after last week’s debate and released Monday
According to a new CNN/ORC poll of likely voters, Clinton leads with 47 percent to Trump’s 42 percent, turning around the results from their poll a month ago which showed Trump leading by 2 points (45-43 percent). Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson is backed by 7 percent of respondents, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein takes 2 percent.
The 7-point swing in the poll is largely due to two factors: Clinton’s renewed support from independent voters and gains with men, including those without a college degree.
In CNN’s previous national poll, Trump led Clinton by 20 points (49-29) among independent voters. However, Clinton now holds a 7-point advantage with that group, taking 44 percent to Trump’s 37 percent.
The former secretary also cut a 22-point deficit with men to only 5 points. She also made gains with men without a college degree, cutting Trump’s lead among the bloc to 21 points from 44 points early last month.
Clinton has also overtaken Trump regarding to who voters believe would be a “stronger leader,” leading with 45 percent to Trump’s 43 percent. Last month, Trump led on the topic by 8 points.
While younger voters also break for Clinton by a significant margin, they are uninspired by either candidate. 42 percent of those surveyed said that they do not admire either candidate, with 29 percent of all voters sharing that sentiment.
The poll of 1,213 likely voters, which was conducted from Sept. 28-Oct. 2, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
