Trump and Clinton Are Neck-and-Neck Nationally

The race for the White House does indeed appear to be tightening. A new CBS/New York Times national poll shows Hillary Clinton with just a 2-point lead over Donald Trump among likely voters, 46% to 44% in a two-candidate race, with a 3-point margin of error. With Gary Johnson and Jill Stein in the mix, Clinton and Trump are neck-and-neck at 42% each. Among all registered voters, Clinton fares better. She has a 5-point lead over Trump, 46% to 41%, in a two-candidate race, and a 2-point lead, 41% to 39%, with Johnson and Stein included. But her lead is still diminshed, and her recent bout with pneumonia may have played a role.

Just 38% of Democrats said they were excited about voting in the poll of 1,753 from Friday to Tuesday, down from 47% in August. That's compared to 64% of Republicans, down from 77%, though nearly all Trump and Clinton supporters said their minds were made up. "Not since Trump's post-Republican National Convention bump has the GOP nominee seemed to be in such a strong position," though he's "still the underdog," writes David A. Graham at the Atlantic. A Quinnipiac University national poll of 960 likely voters shows Clinton with a 5-point lead over Trump in a head-to-head battle, and a 2-point lead in a four-candidate race with a 3-point margin of error, per Politico. (More Election 2016 stories.)