Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump has dropped significantly in California, according to a new poll, continuing a recent tightening nationwide between the two candidates.
A Field/Institute of Government Studies poll released Tuesday from the University of California, Berkley shows that since July, Clinton’s lead in the Golden State has dropped seven points, the Washington Examiner reports.
Clinton still holds a 17-point lead over Trump in California, but she enjoyed a 24-point margin earlier this summer. Clinton currently has the support of 50 percent of likely voters while Trump has support from 33 percent. Six percent say they are voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and five percent are backing Libertarian Gary Johnson. Another six percent are still undecided.
The poll also shows the percentage of voters in the state who view Clinton favorably has dropped by 10 percent since July. Now a majority of Californians, 53 percent, view her negatively, and 41 percent have a "very unfavorable" view of the Democratic nominee.
While Trump polls far behind Clinton, the number of Californians who view him positively increased from 24 percent in July to its current level of 31 percent. Sixty-nine percent of California voters still view the Republican nominee negatively–56 percent of them see him as "very unfavorable." Earlier in the summer, 73 percent thought of him negatively.
The last time California went to a Republican candidate was in 1988, when George H.W. Bush won the state and the election. His predecessor who he served as vice president, Ronald Reagan, was governor of the state for eight years.