A gap is opening up between the two leading candidates, but many Americans remain unenthused about either nominee

TWO weeks of negative press since the end of the conventions have taken a toll on Donald Trump’s polling numbers. In the latest YouGov survey, Hillary Clinton leads him by 42% to 36%. The six-point gap is the largest between the candidates since February.

In the Midwest, stuffed full of must-win states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Mrs Clinton leads Mr Trump by a whacking 15% margin. That does not bode well for the Republicans. Voter preferences tend to crystallise around a fortnight after the conventions, according to research published by Robert Erikson and Christopher Wlezien.

Yet many Americans remain unenthused about either nominee. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party’s candidate, is polling at 9%, more than double his support in mid-June and the best showing by a third-party candidate in a generation. Significantly, a majority of Mr Johnson’s supporters said they would be voting against Mr Trump or Mrs Clinton, rather than for their man.

Indeed, the “clothespin vote”, in which voters hold their nose and pick their least-hated option, appears to be in full vogue. Among Mr Trump’s followers, 44% say they are voting primarily against Mrs Clinton; among hers, 36% are mainly galvanised by their dislike of Mr Trump. The intense mutual loathing on display this election becomes crystal clear when examining voters’ assertions on the character of the candidates. A full third of voters label Mrs Clinton as “evil”. But she can take some consolation from the fact that even more, 39%, think the same of her opponent.