Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Tied in Four-Way Race: Poll

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton are tied among likely voters in a four-way race — further proof that the election is tightening.

Trump and Clinton each take 42 percent support in the new CBS News/New York Times poll released Thursday of likely voters, while Libertarian Gary Johnson has 8 percent support and Green Party nominee Jill Stein has 4 percent.

In a head-to-head contest between the two major candidates, Clinton has a two-point lead at 41 percent to 39 percent of likely voters, which is within the margin of error, making it a virtual tie. When the poll is expanded to registered voters, Clinton's lead widens to five percentage points.

Clinton continues to lead Trump among women, nonwhites and younger voters, while Trump leads among whites, 57 to 33 percent. Among white women, the candidates are virtually tied at 46 percent for Clinton and 45 percent for Trump.

The poll hits at a moment when Clinton has struggled with recent comments in which she called Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables" and when questions about her health have come into play after an early exit from a 9/11 memorial ceremony because she fell ill — a condition that was eventually revealed to be pneumonia.

The tied poll reflects other recent polling, as well. In a national poll of likely voters from Quinnipiac University published on Wednesday, Clinton leads Trump by five points, with her advantage down to just two points in a four-way race. Clinton led by a 10-point margin in the same poll when it was conducted in August, 51 percent to 41 percent.

In the key states of Ohio and Florida, the races are tight, according to a CNN/ORC poll released on Wednesday. Among likely voters in Ohio, Trump leads Clinton 46 percent to 41 percent, with 8 percent behind Johnson and 2 percent behind Stein. In Florida, likely voters put Trump and Clinton in a statistical tie with 47 percent for Trump to 44 percent for Clinton, landing them within the poll's 3.5 percentage point margin of error. Johnson has 6 percent support and Stein has 1 percent.

"We've had an incredible month," Trump said on Fox News Thursday morning. "There is great enthusiasm."

When asked what changed, Trump responded: "I don't know. You know I think I've been saying similar things. I talk immigration and illegal immigration. I talk about jobs. A lot of jobs. Maybe that's it because I'm very focused on jobs."

In recent national polling, Clinton leads head-to-head match-ups against Trump, with the Democrat holding 45.8 percent support compared to 44 percent for the New York businessman, according to averages compiled by RealClear Politics.

The CBS/New York Times poll questioned 1,433 registered voters Sept. 9-13 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons