A new poll out Wednesday found that real-estate mogul Donald Trump is only 6 points behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a theoretical general-election match-up.
According to the CNN/ORC survey, the Democratic front-runner leads Trump just 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters.
If the poll is accurate, it represents a sharp improvement for Trump. Though Trump has surged to the front of the GOP field, polls have previously found him lagging in general-election match-ups.
It's not clear what is specifically driving Trump's recent improvement against Clinton, though she has been battered by a slew of negative headlines in recent months, especially regarding her email use at the State Department. Trump, apparently buoyed by various controversies, has also had a near monopoly of presidential media coverage.
But the CNN poll does show where Trump is drawing much of his support: white men. The survey found that Trump led Clinton among white voters by 55 percent to 41 percent, and among men by 53 percent to 42 percent. In contrast, Clinton was ahead among women by 60 percent to 37 percent while dominating among nonwhite voters by 71 percent to 24 percent.
Trump also did a bit better among voters who didn't go to college (he led 48 percent to 47 percent) and those who make US$ 50,000 or more (he trailed 49 percent to 48 percent).
The other GOP presidential candidates didn't fare much better than Trump against Clinton, either. The poll found that Clinton led former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida by 9 points and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin by 6 points, similar to her margin against Trump.
According to the CNN/ORC survey, the Democratic front-runner leads Trump just 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters.
If the poll is accurate, it represents a sharp improvement for Trump. Though Trump has surged to the front of the GOP field, polls have previously found him lagging in general-election match-ups.
It's not clear what is specifically driving Trump's recent improvement against Clinton, though she has been battered by a slew of negative headlines in recent months, especially regarding her email use at the State Department. Trump, apparently buoyed by various controversies, has also had a near monopoly of presidential media coverage.
But the CNN poll does show where Trump is drawing much of his support: white men. The survey found that Trump led Clinton among white voters by 55 percent to 41 percent, and among men by 53 percent to 42 percent. In contrast, Clinton was ahead among women by 60 percent to 37 percent while dominating among nonwhite voters by 71 percent to 24 percent.
Trump also did a bit better among voters who didn't go to college (he led 48 percent to 47 percent) and those who make US$ 50,000 or more (he trailed 49 percent to 48 percent).
The other GOP presidential candidates didn't fare much better than Trump against Clinton, either. The poll found that Clinton led former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida by 9 points and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin by 6 points, similar to her margin against Trump.