Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and GOP rival Donald Trump are virtually deadlocked in a quartet of battleground states, according to a poll released Sunday.
The NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll gives the Republican real estate mogul a slight edge in red-leaning Arizona and Georgia, and has Mrs. Clinton up by 1 percentage point in blue-ish Nevada and New Hampshire.
Mr. Trump leads Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state, by 1 percentage point — 42 percent to 41 percent — among likely voters in Arizona, which the GOP has carried in each presidential contest since 2000, and by 3 percentage points — 46 percent to 43 percent — in Georgia, which has gone in for the Republican in every election since 1996.
In Nevada, which President Obama won in 2008 and 2012, Mrs. Clinton is up by 1 percentage point — 45 percent to 44 percent — and in New Hampshire, which Mr. Obama also carried both times, her lead is just 42 percent to 41 percent.
The pollsters said the results in each of the states, gathered Sept. 6-8, are within the margin of error, underscoring how important the homestretch to Nov. 8 will be.
“As we enter the final lap of this very unconventional election, it would not be surprising if the electoral map in the end has new contours,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “Any of these four states could awaken a fault line in what is looking more and more like a shake-up election with more states being up for grabs.”
The results remain close when Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein are included, though Nevada flips to a 1 percentage-point edge for Mr. Trump.
Meanwhile, Republicans vying for Senate seats enjoy leads in all four, though Nevada’s race is a squeaker.
According to the poll, among likely voters:
⦁ Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, leads Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick by 19 percentage points among likely voters, 57 percent to 38 percent.
⦁ Sen. Johnny Isakson, Georgia Republican, leads Democratic nominee Jim Barksdale by 15 percentage points, 53 percent to 38 percent
⦁ Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Republican, leads Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan by 8 percentage points, 52 percent to 44 percent.
⦁ In Nevada, Republican Rep. Joe Heck has a 2 percentage-point edge over Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, the former state attorney general, 47 percent to 45 percent.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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