Hillary Clinton has a big lead over Donald Trump in a new Pew national poll. | Getty Clinton tops Trump by 9 points in new Pew poll Voters are highly interested but displeased with their options, the poll finds.

Voters are highly interested in the presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but they're also largely dissatisfied with their options, according to a national Pew Research Center poll released Thursday.

Clinton leads Trump in a head-to-head matchup, 51 percent to 42 percent, with 7 percent undecided, according to the poll.


In a three-way race among Clinton, Trump and Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, Clinton maintains her margin of victory over Trump, topping both candidates with 45 percent support. Trump follows at 36 support, with Johnson at 11 percent and 8 percent remaining undecided.

Trump holds a nine-point advantage over Clinton among white voters, 51 percent to 42 percent, but Clinton dominates among African-American (91 percent to 7 percent) and Hispanic (66 percent to 24 percent) voters.

Both candidates have high negatives, and only 43 percent of Democrats and leaners and 40 percent of Republicans and leaners are satisfied with their choices for president.

More than 40 percent of registered voters said they face a difficult choice in November — because neither Clinton nor Trump would make a good president. Only 11 percent described the choices they face this fall as difficult because both candidates would make a good commander in chief.

Eight in 10 registered voters surveyed said they have given “quite a lot” of thought to the general election battle between the presumptive presidential nominees, which 77 percent — the highest point in 20 years — characterized as “interesting.” Only 17 percent identified this election as “dull.”

But nearly 70 percent of registered voters this year said the election is “too negative,” and 65 percent said it’s not focused on important policy issues.

Clinton-versus-Trump is nearly twice as attention-grabbing as the 2012 contest between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, though. Less than 40 percent of registered voters found that election interesting.

Presidential candidates almost always frame their races as high-stakes elections, and this year voters agree. Nearly three-quarters of registered voters said who wins in November “really matters.”

But as the campaigns have evolved from intraparty primaries to a general election, voters believe the emphasis on important policy debates has devolved. In December, before primary voting kicked off, 33 percent of registered voters said campaigns were “focused on important policy debates.” That figure, however, has diminished to 27 percent as the number of candidates has dwindled to two.

Among Clinton’s supporters, voters are split on whether their vote is being cast for Clinton or against Trump. Fifty percent characterize it as for Clinton, while 48 percent said it’s against Trump.

A vote for Trump, however, is more a vote against Clinton than it is for the billionaire businessman. Fifty percent of his supporters are backing him to vote against Clinton, while 41 percent said their vote will be a vote for Trump.

Republicans have hammered Clinton’s judgment in the wake of FBI Director James Comey’s bombshell announcement Tuesday that Clinton and her State Department staff were “extremely careless” in their handling of sensitive information, though he ultimately recommended to the Justice Department not to pursue charges.

The survey was conducted entirely before July, meaning Comey’s announcement has no bearing on the results. Still, a majority of registered voters found Clinton to be more qualified for the White House (56 percent to 30 percent) and preferred her judgment during a crisis (53 percent to 36 percent) over Trump's. As for which candidate is “honest and truthful,” voters were largely split. Four-in-10 pointed to Clinton, but 37 percent chose Trump. Twenty percent thought neither candidate was honest or truthful.

Voters suggest that electing Trump would bring change to Washington. The problem, though, is that 44 percent said the change would be for the worse, though 33 percent contended that it would be for the better. Fifty-three percent said sending Clinton back into the White House wouldn’t change much.

Trump met with congressional Republicans on Thursday, reportedly clashing with GOP Sens. Jeff Flake and Ben Sasse. That alone highlights why 54 percent of registered Republicans and leaners believe many Republicans won’t support Trump. A number of Republicans have already announced their attentions to skip the Republican National Convention in Cleveland later this month, while others have declined speaking roles. Thirty-eight percent, though, still have faith that the party will “solidly unite” behind its nominee.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders appears to be nearing his long-awaited endorsement of Clinton. The senator has yet to formally bow out of the race although he’s acknowledged that Clinton has more delegates and is the presumptive nominee. More than 70 percent of Democrats and leaners expressed confidence that the Democratic Party will unite behind Clinton’s campaign.

The national Pew survey was conducted June 15-26 among 2,245 adults — including 1,655 registered voters — via landlines and cellphones. The margin of error for the entire sample is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points and plus or minus 2.7 percentage points among registered voters.