US Presidential Race on Eve of First Debate 'Really, Really Close'

US presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are running an extremely tight race before their first presidential debate on Monday evening, Clinton’s vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine said in Lakeland, Florida.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Kaine made remarks just hours before the first of three presidential debates.

"I… want to tell you this is close and we really need you," he said. "It’s close… It’s really, really close. This is a close race and I always thought it was going to be close."

Clinton has sought to project confidence in her victory and has tried to present Trump as failing to be a serious candidate. However, opinion polls across the United States and in large states should the contest tightening with Trump leading in some key "swing" states such as Ohio.

Kaine also admitted that Florida, where he was campaigning, could result in a very narrow margin of victory for either candidate.

"Florida is one of the two or three, if not the most critical, most closely watched, could be the most razor-thin," Kaine predicted.

In 2000, the outcome of the US presidential election was decided by Republican George W. Bush winning Florida, the fourth most populous state in the United States by a margin of only a few hundred votes after a recount was shut down by a conservative-dominated US Supreme Court.