Hillary Clinton Holds Narrow Lead Over Donald Trump Nationally, Poll Finds

Women are giving Hillary Clinton a narrow advantage over Donald Trump in a likely general election matchup, according to a poll of likely voters.

The Quinnipiac University poll found that voters preferred Clinton to Trump 45% to 41% in the November presidential race.

When a third-party candidate is added to the mix, Clinton’s lead is virtually nonexistent at some 2% of the vote, with Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson getting 5%.

Where Clinton holds an advantage against Trump is with women, 54% of whom plan to vote for the Democratic candidate this fall. The poll found that 51% of men, on the other hand, plan to vote Republican.

“This is a very tight race that will divide Democrats and Republicans, the young and the old, white, black and Hispanic voters – and husbands and wives – in the months ahead,” said Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, in a statement.

Clinton’s Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders fares better in a potential matchup with Trump, 48% to 39%, but is behind Clinton 53% to 39% among their own party. “Sen. Bernie Sanders can take solace in the fact that he leads Donald Trump, but the cold hard truth is that his own party favors Hillary Clinton,” Malloy said.

Neither leading candidate is well liked, as Clinton is viewed as unfavorable by 57% of voters, while Trump is viewed by 59% as unfavorable.

The Quinnipiac survey was conducted May 24-30 using a sample of 1,561 registered voters across the country with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5%.