According to the CNN/ORC survey, the Democratic front-runner leads Trump just 51% to 45% among registered voters.

If the poll is accurate, it represents a sharp improvement for Trump. Though Trump has surged to the front of the GOP field, polls have previously found him lagging in general-election matchups.

A CNN/ORC survey in June, for example, found that Clinton would crush Trump 59% to 34% — by 25 points — in the hypothetical matchup. And while his 16-point deficit in July was a notable improvement, it still would represent a wide margin of defeat:

It's not clear what is specifically driving Trump's recent improvement against Clinton, though she has been battered by a slew of negative headlines in recent months, especially regarding her email use at the State Department. Trump, apparently buoyed by various controversies, has also had a near monopoly of presidential media coverage.

But the CNN poll does show where Trump is drawing much of his support: white men. The survey found that Trump led Clinton among white voters by 55% to 41%, and among men by 53% to 42%. In contrast, Clinton was ahead among women by 60% to 37% while dominating among nonwhite voters by 71% to 24%.

Trump also did a bit better among voters who didn't go to college (he led 48% to 47%) and those who make $50,000 or more (he trailed 49% to 48%).

The other GOP presidential candidates didn't fare much better than Trump against Clinton, either. The poll found that Clinton led former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida by 9 points and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin by 6 points, similar to her margin against Trump.

Of course, the 2016 general election is still a long way out; the first primary voters don't even start to weigh in until February. A Clinton campaign spokesman, Jesse Ferguson, responded to the CNN poll by pointing out this fact: