Trump and Sanders more popular with US military than Clinton poll data reveals

US troops would prefer to see Donald Trump as president over Hillary Clinton, with Democrat rival Bernie Sanders polling better than the only female nominee. In a survey of active troops carried out by Military Times, Trump came out better than Clinton by more than 2 to 1, although one in five troops said they would not vote for either candidate.

Of the 951 people polled, just 25% wanted to see Clinton as president, with 54% supporting a Trump victory and 21% saying they would not turn out to vote.

In a Trump v Sanders scenario, the Republican presumptive nominee still came out top, but Sanders, who is trailing behind Clinton for the Democrat nomination, fared better than Clinton and managed to win 38% of the vote, with Trump at 51% and 11% opting not to vote.

However, Clinton fared better than Trump with female troops, officers and those who identified as Democrat voters, while Trump was more popular with the Republicans, male troops and, worryingly for Clinton, those who identified as independent voters.

In other polls, Clinton is nationally leading Trump by 13 points, although a recent Rasmussen survey put the pair at level pegging, with Trump inching out in front when voters lost the option to stay at home and not vote.

A Trump v Clinton presidential race is looking increasingly likely, with Trump currently the presumptive GOP nominee and Clinton racing ahead of Sanders on 2,228 delegates to his 1,454 of a necessary 2,383 to secure the nomination on first ballot.