Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are virtually tied in the latest poll

'Voters find themselves in the middle of a mean-spirited, scorched earth campaign between two candidates they don’t like.'

John Summers II/Jeff Swensen/Getty

With only weeks until the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, presumptive nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are neck and neck in the latest poll from Quinnipiac University.

Forty-two per cent of registered voters surveyed for the Wednesday poll are in favour of Ms Clinton; but Mr Trump is right behind the former Secretary of State with 40 per cent. With a 2.4 point margin of error, the poll is simply “too close to call”.

According to figures from a previous 1 June poll by Quinnipiac, Mr Trump had trailed Ms Clinton by 4 percentage points.

But the most recent poll found that voters have had a negative response to the hostile tone of the election. Some 61 per cent found that the “2016 election has increased the level of hatred and prejudice in the US”, the poll says. Most of those who feel this way blame the Trump campaign (67 per cent). Only 16 per cent blame Ms Clinton.

“It would be difficult to imagine a less flattering from-the-gut reaction to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton,” assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, Tim Malloy, said.

“This is where we are,” he added. “Voters find themselves in the middle of a mean-spirited, scorched earth campaign between two candidates they don’t like.

“And they don’t think either candidate would be a good president.”

The survey was split along racial and gendered lines, as well.

Ms Clinton was the strong favourite amongst women, 50 to 33 per cent, while 47 per cent of men surveyed preferred Mr Trump 47 to 34 per cent.

The New York business tycoon was the candidate of choice for white voters with 47 per cent. Black voters overwhelmingly preferred Ms Clinton at 91 per cent, while Mr Trump only received 1 per cent. Latino voters also preferred Ms Clinton 50 to 33 per cent.

Quinnipiac’s poll comes after Ms Clinton regained her double-digit lead over Mr Trump in a recent Ipsos poll. According to the RealClear Politics average, combining results from seven of the major polls, Ms Clinton has a lead of about 5.1 percentage points.