Hillary Clinton's Lead Narrows Over Donald Trump in New Poll

Hillary Clinton's lead over Donald Trump in a new national poll has narrowed to five points — a lead that has been cut in half compared to the last time the same poll was conducted.

Clinton leads 45.6 percent to Trump's 40.4 percent, according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released Monday. The new poll is a continuation of a string of recent polls showing the presumptive Democratic nominee ahead of the Manhattan businessman by single-digits. However, the new poll is a significantly closer margin than the previous USA Today survey two months ago, which had Clinton at 50 percent and Trump at 39 percent.

Although a 5-point difference would be considered a landslide in a presidential election, the trend line of a slimming lead is likely concerning for the Clinton camp, which has sought to paint Trump as a self-serving businessman who is totally unqualified for the presidency.

Clinton lost an additional percentage point when candidates outside the two main parties were added to the poll. When Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party contender Jill Stein were added to the new poll, Clinton's lead over Trump dropped 4 points, 39 to 35 percent, as Johnson picked up 8 percent and Stein 3 percent.

The USA Today poll also provided insight into the mindset of voters. According to the poll, 61 percent felt "alarmed" about the election, 23 percent are "excited" by it, while only 9 percent say they are "bored."

Trump remains the more unfavorable candidate with 60 percent of respondents viewing him as unfavorable, compared to Clinton's 53 percent. Nearly one in five respondents has a negative view of both candidates.

"On one side, you have Hillary, who is being investigated by the FBI, and then you have Donald Trump, who has diarrhea of the mouth," Jay Brooks, 31, an engineer from Huntsville, Alabama, told USA Today. "I don't think either of them are electable or would be a good president."

However, Clinton maintains a strong advantage among minority voters, beating Trump by nearly 2-1 among Latinos and 10-1 among African Americans. Trump leads by 9 points among whites, 47 percent to 38 percent, the poll found.

In recent polling, Clinton leads head-to-head match-ups against Trump, with the Democrat holding 44.9 percent support compared to 40.3 for the New York businessman, according to averages compiled by RealClear Politics.

The USA Today/Suffolk University poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters June 26-29 by landline and cell phones. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.

[Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons]