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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (left) has a 4-point lead in Ohio over Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to a newly released poll.

(AP photos)

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has a 4-point lead in Ohio over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Quinnipiac University survey marks the first time Trump has led an Ohio presidential poll since May.

The survey found that Trump leads Clinton 41 percent to 37 percent among likely Ohio voters. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson polled 14 percent, while the Green Party's Jill Stein had 4 percent support.

In a head-to-head matchup, the poll found that Trump is ahead of Clinton 46 percent to 45 percent.

The results show that Ohio's presidential election may ultimately be decided by supporters of Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, according to Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

"He is getting 14 percent from Ohio voters, and how that cohort eventually votes could be critical in this swing state - and in the nation," Brown said in a statement.

Thursday's poll is the first survey of the presidential race in Ohio to be released this month. The last Quinnipiac poll of Ohio, released nearly a month ago, showed Clinton with a 2-point lead among likely Buckeye State voters, as well as a 4-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup with Trump.

The new poll shows only 88 percent of Democratic likely voters in Ohio back Clinton - down from 95 percent support in last month's survey. The survey also showed that Trump gained support among likely male voters in the state, while Clinton lost backing among Ohio men.

However, Trump's support among independent voters fell to 43 percent, compared to 50 percent in last month's Quinnipiac poll.

For reasons that aren't completely clear yet, Clinton's lead in national polls has slipped since mid-August, when she led Trump by about 8 percentage points.

The new Quinnipiac poll was conducted by phone between Aug. 29 and Sept. 7 among 775 registered Ohio voters. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.

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