Clinton’s lead over Trump shrinking, poll may go down to wire

Despite swathes of Republicans deserting the Donald Trump camp – and despite his reportedly shrinking cash war-chest compared to his Democratic rival's still robust one - Hillary Clinton's victory in the 8 November election is far from certain, with her lead over Trump down to a mere one points, according to one poll.

Of likely voters, 47 per cent said they plan to cast their ballots for the Democrat, while 46 per cent are backing the GOP nominee, the new Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll showed on Saturday.

On the previous Sunday, the same poll showed the former Secretary of State with a whopping 12-point lead over the New York businessman. By Friday, her lead narrowed to just four points.

The new poll - which was conducted Monday through Thursday - does not include voter reactions from Friday's announcement that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will reopen its probe into Clinton's use of a private server for her emails.

Polls vary widely, and some still show Clinton with a more substantial lead over Trump. A Saturday IBD/TIPP Tracking poll reported that 45 per cent of likely voters are backing Clinton and 41 per cent plan to vote for Trump.

Yet others, such as the Friday Rasmussen Reports, showed the candidates in a tie. Saturday's LA Times/USC tracking poll had Trump with a two-point lead over Clinton.

The week of up-and-down polling comes as Trump continues to insist that the surveys are ''rigged'' against him.

''I have no doubt about it,'' he told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly Thursday when asked about the possibility of ''rigged'' polls.

 ''I'm winning in certain polls and then in other polls, the dirty polls we call them, I was losing by numbers that were ridiculous,'' he said. ''I think we're winning, but Bill, you look at some of these polls it's absolutely ridiculous.''

Trump has repeatedly claimed the yet-to-be-held election is ''rigged'' against him, too. He has refused to say if he'll accept the results.