The double-digit lead Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had just days ago over Republican rival Donald Trump has nearly been erased, and that’s before Friday’s bombshell that the FBI is reopening its investigation into her emails.
In four days time, Clinton’s 12-point advantage among likely voters (50 percent to 38 percent) shrunk to just 2 points (47 percent to 45 percent) in a four-way race, according to the latest results of a daily ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll released Saturday.
Independents played a significant role in the shift, as their support swayed from being in Clinton’s favor by 6 percent to giving Trump a 16-point advantage.
The survey found that the more time that has passed since Trump’s latest controversies earlier this month, including a number of sexual assault allegations, the more Republicans said they are willing to vote since last week. Meanwhile “loosely affiliated or reluctant” supporters of Clinton became less likely to turn out on Election Day.
The national poll of 1,148 likely voters was conducted via landline and cellphone between Oct. 24 and Oct. 27 in English and Spanish. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points and partisan divisions of 37 percent Democrat, 29 percent Republican and 29 percent independent.
