 "Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump shakes hands with his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton. (Photo: Reuters)")
Hillary Clinton has managed a whopping 12-percentage point lead over rival Donald Trump in the US presidential race just weeks ahead of the election day, according to a new poll on sunday, which said that support for the Democratic nominee has touched 50 per cent for the first time.
ABC News/Washington Post poll said it was the highest for Clinton and the lowest for Trump since their campaigns began.
"Clinton leads Trump by 12 percentage points among likely voters, 50 to 38 per cent, in the national survey," it said.
Trump has a high disapproval rating with 69 per cent of the likely voters disapproving of his response to accusations about his treatment of women, found the poll conducted by Langer Research Associates from Thursday to Saturday among 1,391 adults, including 874 likely voters.
The other two presidential candidate Gary Johnson has 5 per cent support, Jill Stein 2 per cent.
The poll came at a time when an adult film star accused the 70-year-old real-estate tycoon of unwanted sexual contact.
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The accusation by Jessica Drake, 42, that Trump touched and kissed her in 2006 was at least the 11th time a woman has come out in public against Trump's behaviour towards women since a 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape surfaced in which he was seen bragging about being able to grope and kiss women.
Trump campaign has refuted all such allegations.
Further, the polls said more than half - 59 per cent - reject Trump's claim that the election was rigged against him and 65 per cent disapprove of his comments that he may not accept the results of the November 8 election.
And Clinton, 68, has said she does not want to respond to the remarks of Trump anymore and called his refusal to accept the results of the election unacceptable.
"We know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship, right? The peaceful transition of power is one of those things that sets us apart. And whether you support me or you support my opponent, together we must show that we support American democracy," she has said.
According to the poll, Clinton leads Trump by 20 percentage points among women, 55-35 per cent.
She's gained 12 points (and Trump lost 16) from mid-October among non-college-educated white women, some of whom initially seemed to rally to Trump after disclosure of the videotape.
The former secretary of state has doubled her lead to 32 points, 62-30 per cent, among college-educated white women, a group that's particularly critical of his response to questions about his sexual conduct, it said.
On Trump's claim of a "rigged" election, 23 per cent of Republican likely voters say he's trying to make excuses in case he loses, rather than raising a legitimate concern; this view swells to 57 per cent among independents and 91 per cent among Democrats, the poll result said.
That said, 74 per cent of Republicans, and 84 per cent of Trump supporters, say it's a legitimate issue, it added.
