Trump, Clinton locked in tight race, new poll finds

PanARMENIAN.Net - Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are tied nationally amid waning enthusiasm among Democratic voters, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll released Thursday, September 15, CNN reports.

The survey found Trump and Clinton locked at 42% among likely voters nationwide in a four-way race with Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein included.

Johnson and Stein garnered 8% and 4% respectively, according to the poll, with Clinton losing slightly more supporters to the pair than Trump.

Clinton narrowly edged Trump among likely voters, 46%-44% in a head-to-head without either Johnson or Stein included, the CBS/NYT poll found. But most Americans will have the option to vote for either of the two third-party candidates. Johnson will be on the ballot in all 50 states, while Stein will be on the ballot in 45 states, as well as the District of Columbia. The findings provide a snapshot of a race that suddenly looks tighter than it did a month ago, when Clinton emerged from her party's convention with leads nationally and in swing states.

About 64% of the Democratic Party's registered voters are either very or somewhat enthusiastic about voting this year, according to the CBS/NYT poll, down from 77% in August. Enthusiasm among Republicans, meanwhile, has remained about the same.

And 45% of Trump voters said they are "very enthusiastic" about voting, while just 36% of Clinton supporters say the same, CNN says.

That enthusiasm gap has eroded Clinton's electoral firewall. After holding consistent leads in Ohio and Florida for much of the summer, Clinton's edge in those crucial battlegrounds has evaporated. A CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday showed Trump up by five points in Ohio, with the two virtually tied in Florida.

The CBS/NYT poll surveyed 1,433 likely voters nationwide between September 9-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three points.