Clinton maintains 6-point lead over Trump, poll finds

A tracking poll released Wednesday found that Hillary Clinton has maintained a six-point lead over Republican Donald Trump, contradicting other surveys that came out over the past week in the wake of new FBI revelations linked to the Democratic presidential nominee’s past use of a private email server.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which is repeated periodically with the same group of people to measure changes of opinion, gave Clinton 45 percent support against 39% for Trump after polling 1,772 people who had already voted or were likely to cast their ballot.

Last Friday FBI Director James Comey announced his agency had discovered a new trove of emails that might be pertinent to an earlier investigation of Clinton’s handling of classified information.

Comey has come under fierce criticism from Democrats for effectively reopening the probe so close to the November 8 elections, without knowing whether the new emails were relevant.

Before Comey’s bombshell had landed, Clinton led by around 43% over Trump’s 37% in polls, but many polls showed that gap narrowing, with one poll even giving a slight lead to the Republican.

FBI agents are sifting through hundreds of thousands of emails found on a laptop taken in a separate investigation from Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of close Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

Comey’s announcement was a departure from Justice Department policy to not comment on ongoing investigations or to take actions close to elections that could influence the outcome. The Bureau chief has provided no timetable for concluding the review of the latest emails.

In July, Comey recommended against bringing charges against Clinton after a long investigation into her use of a private server to send email while secretary of state.

The Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll, conducted in 50 states and with an accuracy of plus or minus 3%, also asked who respondents would vote for in a four-way election. Clinton still led with 45% while Trump scored 37%, losing points to Libertarian Gary Johnson (5%) and Green Party candidate Jill Stein (2%).

National polls do not necessarily indicate the result on election day, as American presidential races are state-based, with 48 of the 50 states granting all their Electoral College votes to the winning candidate in that state. But the poll results do suggest Trump faces an uphill battle in his hopes of upsetting pollsters’ expectations.

Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report.