Donald Trump holds a 3-point lead over Hillary Clinton in the battleground state of North Carolina, according to a Suffolk University poll released Thursday.
Mr. Trump led Mrs. Clinton by 3 points, 44 percent to 41 percent, with Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson at 4 percent and 8 percent undecided. Green Party nominee Jill Stein is not on the ballot in the state, but voters can write her in.
“North Carolina is very close, and so is the gender gap margin, though it’s not quite working in Hillary Clinton’s favor with Johnson in the mix,” said David Paleologos director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston.
The polling analysis called the race a “statistical dead heat.” The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Mr. Trump had a 21-point, 53 percent to 32 percent lead among men, with Mr. Johnson at 3 percent. Mrs. Clinton, meanwhile, had a 13-point, 49 percent to 36 percent lead over Mr. Trump among women, with Mr. Johnson at 5 percent.
Both major-party nominees are targeting the state heavily. Mrs. Clinton is campaigning there on Thursday, and both Mr. Trump and Sen. Tim Kaine, Mrs. Clinton’s running mate, were in the state earlier this week.
The latest Real Clear Politics average, which includes the Suffolk poll, shows Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton in a tie at about 43 percent each, with Mr. Johnson at 7 percent.
Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, carried the state narrowly after President Obama won it in 2008.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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