The presidential race tightened slightly in the wake of the FBI recommendation not to charge likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for her secret email setup and mishandling classified material, according to a weekly tracking poll released Thursday.
The Rasmussen Reports survey showed presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump ahead 42 percent to 40 percent, as the former secretary of state slightly closed the gap.
Mr. Trump pulled ahead of Mrs. Clinton in the tracking poll last week, 43 percent to 39 percent, which was his highest level of support he has had in the poll since October.
The new survey of likely voters was conducted Tuesday evening following FBI Director James B. Comey’s announcement that his agency recommended against pursuing an indictment of Mrs. Clinton, although he described the conduct of her and her staff at the state department as “extremely careless” and potentially damaging to national security.
However, voters predicted months ago in another Rasmussen Reports poll what the FBI would decide, with 65 percent saying Mrs. Clinton likely broke the law but just 25 percent saying it was even “somewhat likely” that she would be charged with a felony.
The new tracking poll showed Mr. Trump with 73 percent support among his fellow Republicans and picking up 13 percent of the Democratic vote. Mrs. Clinton captured 79 percent of Democratic support and 11 percent of the GOP vote.
Among independent voters, Mr. Trump holds a 20-point lead, but 33 percent of these voters like some other candidate or are undecided.
Most other polls have shown Mrs. Clinton leading Mr. Trump. The Real Clear Politics average of recent polls, which includes the Rasmussen Reports surveys, gave Mrs. Clinton a 5-point advantage over Mr. Trump.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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