US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has taken a 12-percentage-point lead over her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential race, according to a new poll.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, released on Tuesday, shows the former secretary of state has 45 percent of the votes as compared to the New York billionaire having only a 33-percent support. Another 22 percent wouldn't pick either candidate.
Clinton has led Trump throughout most of the 2016 presidential campaign. But her latest lead represents a stronger level of support than polls showed in recent editions of the poll.
In the previous polls, the former First Lady’s lead over the real estate tycoon ranged between 3 and 9. One poll -- McClatchy/Marist survey – conducted early August, however, found Clinton 15 points ahead of Trump.
Clinton's lead over Trump slimmed slightly in the Reuters/Ipsos poll in a four-way match-up that included Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. She received 41 percent to his 33 percent. In that scenario, Johnson earned 7 percent, while Stein bagged 2 percent.
The poll was conducted from August 18 to 22 among a national sample of 1,115 likely voters. The margin of error is 3 points.
The Reuters poll noted that at this point of the race four years ago, public support for candidates was higher during the presidential election between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney.
"Those who are wavering right now are just as likely to be thinking about supporting a third-party candidate instead, and not between Clinton and Trump," said Tom Smith, who directs the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at the University of Chicago.
According to Pew Research Center poll, released last week, a majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Trump, with 55 percent saying he would make a poor or terrible president, while 45 percent saying the same about Clinton.
Thirty-one percent say Clinton would make a good or great president, while 27 percent say the same of Trump.
Those who back Trump say, 81 percent to 11 percent, that life is worse now for US citizens than it was 50 years ago. However, Clinton supporters -- 59 percent -- say life is better than five decades ago and 19 percent say it is worse.
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