Likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has a 4-point lead over presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, according to a national Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.
Mrs. Clinton had a 45 percent to 41 percent lead over Mr. Trump in the survey.
In a four-way race, the lead went down to 2 points, with Mrs. Clinton at 40 percent, Mr. Trump at 38 percent, Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson at 5 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 3 percent.
In the Clinton-Trump match-up, Mr. Trump led among men by 16 points, while Mrs. Clinton led among women by 24 points.
Eighty-six percent of Republicans supported Mr. Trump, while 90 percent of Democrats backed Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Trump led among independents by 3 points, 40 percent to 37 percent.
“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, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont led Mr. Trump by 9 points head-to-head, 48 percent to 39 percent, but trailed Mrs. Clinton among Democrats and leaners by a 53 percent to 39 percent margin.
Mrs. Clinton had a 37 percent unfavorable rating compared to a 57 percent favorable rating. Mr. Trump didn’t fare any better, with a 34 percent/59 percent favorable/unfavorable split.
“American voters don’t like either one of the front-runners,” Mr. Malloy said. “The question could be who we dislike the least.”
Voters said Mrs. Clinton was better prepared to president than Mr. Trump, that she’s more intelligent, and that she has higher moral standards, but voters gave Mr. Trump the edge on the issue of trustworthiness, on who is a stronger leader, and on who is more inspiring.
On issues, voters said Mr. Trump would be better at creating jobs and handling the Islamic State terrorist group, while they gave Mrs. Clinton the edge on immigration, handling an international crisis, and making the right decisions on nuclear weapons.
Mrs. Clinton also held a narrow 2-point edge on who voters would trust more to send U.S. troops overseas, and a 3-point edge on who would do a better job getting things done in Washington.
More voters said they would rather invite Mr. Trump to a backyard barbecue, but more also said they would turn to Mrs. Clinton during a personal crisis.
Mr. Trump also had a 3-point edge over Mrs. Clinton on the question of who voters would rather watch on TV for the next four years.
“Trump may be the guy voters want flipping burgers in the backyard and flipping companies in the board room, but when it comes to making deals in D.C. and stepping up to confront an international crisis, voters want Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office,” Mr. Malloy said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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