Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has nearly pulled even with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and stands a good chance of being elected president in November, a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken over the course of the Republican National Convention revealed Friday.
RELATED:
Trump Accepts GOP Nomination, Continues Fearmongering
The poll found that 41 percent of likely voters supported Clinton, while 38 percent supported Trump. These latest numbers show a much more competitive race than previous polls but are consistent with the trend showing Trump gaining on Clinton.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted in English in all 50 states with 1,036 likely voters.
Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election during a hectic convention, nominees tend to get a boost in opinion polls after conventions.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted between July 18 to 22, before Clinton announced Senator Tim Kaine as running mate.
Kaine is widely seen as a safe choice for Clinton but her decision to run with the right-leaning senator threatens to undermine efforts to win support from the Democratic Party's leftist wing, which was energized thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders' strong run during the primaries.
Senator Kaine is also considered representative of the Democratic Party establishment, having previously served as mayor of Richmond, governor of Virginia and head of the Democratic National Committee.
OPINION:
American Democracy Is a Shitshow
Clinton's pick of Kaine as her running mate indicates her campaign likely intends to cast Clinton as a reasonable alternative to the erratic Trump.
However, this year's election has been marked by the anti-establishment sentiment of the electorate and the selection of Kaine may ultimately backfire.
Most pundits wrote off Trump throughout his run in the Republican primaries before the television reality star-turned politician proved naysayers wrong.
Many progressives are now contending with the possibility that Trump could very well win the general election.
Speaking on Real Time with Bill Maher on Wednesday, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore predicted the Republican nominee would win.
“I'm sorry to have to be the buzzkill here so early on, but I think Trump is going to win,” said Moore.
The filmmaker argued that Trump is successfully reaching a significant portion of the electorate.