Donald Trump takes lead over Hillary Clinton in crucial swing state Florida

It's one of the election’s key battleground states

'For the past two decades, Florida has consistently been a competitive state... this year will be no different,' says JMC Analytics pollster (Getty)

Donald Trump now has a lead of four points over Hillary Clinton in Flordia, one of this election’s key battleground states, according to a major poll.

In a survey of Florida voters by JMC Analytics, Mr Trump has 46 per cent of the vote compared to Ms Clinton’s 42 – leaving the Libertarian and Green candidates with three percent and one per cent respectively.

Florida is vital to this year’s election since it carries 29 electoral college votes, meaning it has more representatives and greater voting power.

The Sunshine State is also important because it has oscillated between favouring Republican and Democrat nominees over the past six months, with Mr Trump coming out on top most times.

“For the past two decades, Florida has consistently been a competitive state both in its federal and statewide elections, and this year will be no different,” JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon said in a statement.

Along with Arizona and Ohio, Florida is one of 13 states thought decisive in the election. In these states either there is an even “toss up” between the candidates, or neither candidate is heavily favoured.

Despite the apparent sway towards Mr Trump in Florida, overall Ms Clinton still has the edge in most of the swing states.

JMC’s survey contacted 781 households on 7 and 8 September and claimed to have a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

Mr Trump, the survey showed, had strong support from white voters. Regionally, he was most popular in north and south central Florida.

Yet the poll may be misleading, since it is an automated survey. JMC's method is seen by many as outdated because it only contacts people with landline telephones.

Other polls in Florida have had different results. According to YouGov and CBS, although the gap between the Democratic and Republican nominees in the state had narrowed, Clinton was still marginally ahead of Trump, with 44 per cent of the vote compared to 42.

Florida has a large Hispanic population, widely thought of as the “sleeping giant” of the election. Mr Trump’s popularity among Latino voters is at a record low, so if they turn out to vote, they could threaten Mr Trump's predicted win in the state.