In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup for the 2016 presidential race, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll has found that Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are in a statistical dead heat, reflecting the billionaire businessman’s continuing surge and the former Secretary of State’s substantial erosion of support.
The poll findings released on Sunday show Clinton at 46 per cent and Trump at 43 per cent among registered voters — a small gap that is said to be within the survey’s margin of sampling error. Clinton, however, holds a much bigger lead of 51 per cent to 33 per cent among all adults.
The poll highlights the rise of anti-establishment presidential candidates in both parties — Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson in the Republican Party and Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party.
Nearly 14 months before the election, Clinton remains the Democratic front-runner, but her support has dropped by as much as 21 per cent since July. Her support among registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents is now put at 42 per cent against that of her immediate party, Senator Sanders, who is at 24 per cent, but has moved up by 10 per cent since July.