Trump Takes The Lead In National Poll With A Week Until Election Day

Figures from a latest national poll show Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are neck-and-neck, but Trump has officially taken the lead by one point in at least one major survey.

According to The Washington Post and ABC News tracking poll, Republican candidate Trump has the support of 46 per cent of voters compared to Democratic candidate Clinton, who is sitting on 45 per cent.

It's the first time Trump has taken the lead against Clinton since May, which makes sense given the turbulent week for Clinton's campaign.

The FBI's announcement that they were investigating emails tied to Clinton has been somewhat of a stifling blow. Six in ten voters said that the news wouldn't influence their decision, while three in ten said it makes them less likely to back her for presidency.

Experts have told people to be cautionary when looking at polling results, since a one point lead is entirely within the statistical margin of error.

It's also worth mentioning that results are varied across different polling platforms.

For instance, FiveThirtyEight still puts Clinton's chances as 71 per cent, which places her miles ahead of Trump.

Regardless, Trump has been quick to herald news about his lead on Washington/ABC News polls by taking to Twitter.

Trump's vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence has followed suit in welcoming the polling figures. "The momentum is on our side. The latest polls have Donald Trump leading nationwide," he said at a Pennsylvania rally.

According to SBS, the prospect of Trump winning has prompted a wave of jitters across Democrats and experts in the financial market.

Simon Johnson, former chief economic of the International Monetary Fund, warned that a shock result "would cause the stock market to crash and plunge the world into recession." (Uh oh, GFC round two, anyone?)

With just a week to go until the big election day the stakes are high. By the looks of it, the race is definitely narrowing in its final sprint.

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