Clinton leads Trump in two new polls ahead of the third presidential debate

Just days ahead of the final presidential debate, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leads Republican rival Donald Trump nationally among likely voters. Two new polls show Clinton ahead but by different margins, while a third poll has Trump's minor lead dwindling each day.

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll finds Clinton ahead of Trump by four percentage points, 47% to 43%. Third party candidates Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) and Jill Stein (Green Party) trail behind with 5% and 2% respectively.

Clinton maintains the four-point lead in a two-way race with Trump.

Meanwhile, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey found Clinton's lead to be much wider at 11%. Clinton has 48% support and is followed by Trump with 37%, Johnson with 7% and Stein with 2%. In a two-way race, Clinton is ahead 51% to 41%.

The recent leak of Trump's Access Hollywood tape, in which he discusses sexually assaulting women, appears to be affecting his poll numbers. The NBC polls reveals Clinton is ahead of Trump among women by 20 points, while he leads with men by just three points.

Of those polled, 32% said the video disqualified Trump from being president and believed he should withdraw from the election. However, 53% disagreed.

Continued polling by the Los Angles Times, which has had Trump in the lead since mid-September shows that the recent scandals concerning the video and allegations of sexual assault have hurt the GOP nominee.

The poll shows a steady decline for Trump in the days following the 8 October lewd remarks reveal. Trump lead Clinton on 8 October 46.1% to 43.0%. That 3.1% lead remained steady during the second debate at 45.8% to 42.7%. However, Trump's lead has dropped to 0.6% – 44.5% to 43.9% – on 16 October.

The final presidential debate will be held on 19 October but the damage from continued sexual assault allegations may continue to plague the Trump campaign.

Electoral college polls give Clinton a clear chance of winning. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump's chances of winning have slipped to 13.6% while Clinton continues to rise. The New York Time's The Upshot, meanwhile, only gives Trump an 11% chance of winning.

Time will tell if Trump is able to weather the scandal-filled storm and change his luck before the 8 November election.