Nearly eight weeks out from election day, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are virtually tied in four battleground states, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls show.
In Arizona, Trump leads Clinton among likely voters, 42 percent to 41 percent. In Georgia, Trump leads Clinton 46 percent to 43 percent among likely voters.
In Nevada, Clinton leads Trump among likely voters 45 percent to 44 percent. In New Hampshire, Clinton leads Trump 42 percent to 41 percent among likely voters.
Adding Libertarian and Green Party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein to the mix mostly benefits Trump:
The race in these states remains equally close when the ballot is expanded to three and four candidates, including Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein.
In Arizona, Trump gets 40 percent, Clinton gets 38 percent, Johnson gets 12 percent and Stein gets 3 percent.
In Georgia, it’s Trump at 44 percent, Clinton at 42 percent and Johnson at 10 percent. (Stein isn’t on the ballot in Georgia.)
In Nevada, it’s Trump at 42 percent, Clinton at 41 percent, Johnson at 8 percent and Stein at 3 percent.
And in New Hampshire, it’s Clinton at 39 percent, Trump at 37 percent, Johnson at 15 percent and Stein at 3 percent.
The polls were conducted between September 6 and September 8, before Clinton declared “half” of Trump’s supporters were “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic” and “irredeemable” people who belonged in the “basket of deplorables” on September 9. Her collapse during the 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City may also change poll results.