Hillary Clinton is maintaining her edge over Republican rival Donald Trump despite recent campaign setbacks, but the 2016 presidential race continues to tighten going into the homestretch, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found.
After a rocky week of controversy over her health and for calling some of Mr. Trump’s supporters “deplorables,” the Democratic nominee leads Mr. Trump by 6 percentage points, 43% to 37%, among people likely to vote, the survey found. Two third-party candidates drew 12% support.
It is the first Journal/NBC News survey this year to focus on the opinions of people likely to vote. Among all registered voters, a slightly broader group than those designated as likely voters, Mrs. Clinton leads by 5 percentage points, narrower than her 9-point lead in the August Journal/NBC News survey.
Mrs. Clinton still is viewed negatively by a majority of voters. She faces broad questions about her honesty and is at risk of not drawing the levels of black and Hispanic support that Democratic President Barack Obama did in 2012.
Her ability to weather controversy and hold on to a polling lead has been bolstered by some of Mr. Trump’s weaknesses, the poll found. Mr. Trump is still viewed more negatively than she is, and has struggled to reach beyond his core support among white voters without college degrees.
Another factor helping Mrs. Clinton is that Mr. Obama’s job-approval rating has been on the rise in recent months.
The result is a race that remains remarkably stable after a campaign that has seemed like a roller-coaster ride, yanking voters’ attention from one imbroglio to the next. Most recently, it has focused on questions about Mrs. Clinton’s health and Mr. Trump retracting his long-held doubts about Mr. Obama’s citizenship.
The survey was taken Sept. 16-19, after those controversies generated news headlines and before the recent bombing incidents in and near New York.
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