Trump ties Hill in swing states

Polls show dead heat in prez race

The general election race for the White House is shaping up as a nail-biter, with presumptive contenders Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in a virtual dead heat both nationally and in key swing states, according to two new polls released Tuesday.

The former first lady led the New York real-estate magnate nationwide by just 4 points, 42 percent to 38 percent, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling.

A second poll, by Quinnipiac University, showed Clinton holding razor-thin 43 percent to 42 percent leads in Florida and Pennsylvania, while Trump was slightly ahead in all-important Ohio, 43 percent to 39 percent.

The margins of error were plus or minus 3.2 percent in the national poll and 3 percent in each of the three states, meaning the candidates were basically tied roughly six months before the election.

“As folks are taking a closer look, we’re seeing a tightening of the race, and it’s not unexpected as we approach the conventions,” GOP campaign strategist Craig Stevens told The Post, adding that he was not surprised the former reality-TV star was closing the gap.

“Anyone who underestimates Mr. Trump does so at their own peril,” Stevens said. “Look at what he did in the primary.”

No candidate has won the White House since 1960 without taking at least two of the three swing states. But Quinnipiac pollster Tim Malloy said there’s still plenty of time for the numbers to change as Trump and Clinton square off for an expected sixmonth donnybrook.

“By most accounts you’re about to see the gloves-off hockey fight here and that could change things,” Malloy said.

And the news in the swing-state poll was not all good for Trump.

“When we asked who would be best handling an international crisis there was a vast difference between Trump and Clinton. He did very poorly,” Malloy said.

In the three states, between 51 percent and 55 percent of voters said Clinton had “the right kind of temperament and personality to handle an international crisis as president,” while Trump’s numbers ranged from 29 percent to 34 percent.

Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, said Clinton remains the favorite but the race could be closer than people think.

“Hillary Clinton certainly is favored to win the presidential race this fall,” Debnam said. “But it might not be the giant blowout it’s been made out to be in some quarters. Donald Trump has quickly gotten most rank-and-file Republican voters behind him and that has him positioned as a modest underdog for the general rather than a massive one.”

But Clinton, who is closing in on the Democratic presidential nod, still can’t shake upstart Bernie Sanders, whose campaign in- sists he’s the better candidate to beat Trump in November.

In one-on-one matchups without the third-party candidates included, Clinton’s lead expands to 47 percent to 41 percent, while Sanders fares even better, leading Trump 50 percent to 37 percent, Public Policy Polling found.

And in the Quinnipiac poll, Sanders does slightly better against Trump than Clinton in the three key swing states.

Sanders tops Trump in Florida, 44 percent to 42 percent, and leads in Ohio, 43 percent to 41 percent. He also leads Trump in Pennsylvania, 47 percent to 41 percent.