In the four-way ballot test, which followed the head-to-head matchup in the list of questions read to likely voters, Hillary Clinton received 41 percent to Donald Trump's 39 percent. | Getty National poll: Clinton leads Trump by 5

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by five points in a head-to-head matchup in the latest national poll of likely voters from Quinnipiac University out Wednesday, with the advantage narrowing to just two points in a four-way race.

Matched against only Trump, 48 percent said they would vote for Clinton, with 43 percent choosing the Republican nominee, 3 percent picking someone else and 6 percent undecided. Clinton led by a larger margin in the previous Quinnipiac survey conducted in August, 51 percent to 41 percent.


Regardless of whom they are supporting, majorities voters likely to cast their ballot for Clinton or Trump said their main reason for supporting their candidate was more in opposition of the other option than liking their choice. More than half—54 percent of Clinton supporters said opposing Trump was their main reason for backing the Democratic nominee. Approximately two-thirds of likely Trump voters—66 percent—said their main reason for supporting him is because they opposed Clinton.

The latest results come as other state and national polls show similarly tightening margins between both major candidates, who have traded words in recent days over concerns about transparency and health. The Quinnipiac poll began last Thursday, a day after the Commander in Chief Forum, and remained active in the field until Tuesday, after days of public attention on Clinton's health following her early departure from a 9/11 memorial on Sunday and subsequent revelation that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia last Friday.

Asked whether they thought the election would be close or one of the candidates would win in a landslide, 69 percent chose the former and 22 percent the latter.

Republicans and Trump supporters were more likely to say the election will be close, while more Democrats and Clinton supporters said their candidate would prevail with ease.

Regardless of the candidate they are supporting, nearly six in 10 likely voters—58 percent—said Clinton would win in November, while 31 percent said Trump would be elected.

The usual racial, educational and gender gaps persist in the latest poll, with Clinton holding the support of 54 percent of women in the head-to-head matchup compared to 36 percent for Trump, who received the support of 50 percent of men to Clinton’s 41 percent. Among white voters, Trump leads 51 percent to 41 percent, while among non-whites, Clinton has a 47-point edge of 66 percent to 19 percent.

Among whites holding college degrees, Clinton leads 50 percent to 44 percent, while Trump leads among whites without degrees, 59 percent to 33 percent.

In the four-way ballot test, which followed the head-to-head matchup in the list of questions read to likely voters, Clinton received 41 percent to Trump's 39 percent. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson received 13 percent, while the Green Party's Jill Stein took 4 percent, with 3 percent undecided among those choices.

In order to reach the primetime presidential debates, the first of which is scheduled for Sept. 26, third-party candidates must receive an average of 15 percent support in five national polls; however, the Quinnipiac survey is not one of them.

A separate question in the survey showed some support for Johnson’s inclusion in the debates, with 57 percent saying he should be included and 37 percent saying he should not. Support for Johnson’s inclusion was highest among independents (66 percent to 30 percent) and higher among Clinton supporters (60 percent to 33 percent) than Trump backers (50 percent to 46 percent).

The poll was conducted Sept. 8-13, surveying 960 likely voters nationwide via landlines and cellphones. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.