UPI/CVoter poll: Trump stabilizes standing for a second consecutive day

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Donald Trump stabilized his polling numbers for a second day, gaining ground while Hillary Clinton slipped slightly in the UPI/CVoter daily presidential tracking poll released Wednesday.

As of data collected since Monday, Clinton leads the race by 3.5 percentage points, 48.5 percent to Trump's 45 percent.

Trump's modest climb back came after a 10-day decline, where he went from leading the race on the eve of the Democratic National Convention to trailing by nearly 7 points the week following it.

Trump also spent most of the past few days on-message, speaking from prepared remarks while delivering a speech on the economy and making amends with fellow Republicans by endorsing House Speaker Paul Ryan and other senators who he snubbed a week earlier.

On Tuesday night at a rally in North Carolina, though, he made a remark some regarded as encouraging Second Amendment supporters to shoot Hillary Clinton, drawing a round of condemnation from elected officials and critical media headlines.

If Trump's brief climb is stunted -- and especially if he gives back the ground he's made up in the national horserace -- it could signify that a small but potentially crucial portion of the population is being influenced by the daily news cycle.

If the candidates' numbers stabilize over the coming days, it could call into question whether voters have hardened their opinions of the candidates since the conventions and are unwilling to change their minds regardless of what happens. It could also suggest they are becoming more immune to the daily controversies that have defined news coverage of the campaign thus far.

The UPI/CVoter online daily presidential tracking poll surveys about 200 people per day, leading to a rolling sample size of roughly 1,400 people in any seven-day span. Because individuals self-select to participate, a margin of error cannot be calculated. The survey's credibility interval is 3 percentage points. This data reflect sampling from Aug. 2 through Monday. The poll includes 1,471 registered voters and 993 self-described likely voters.