Presidential debate: Hillary Clinton wins final face-off against Donald Trump, YouGov poll suggests

The candidates for president of the United States faced off for the third and final time, but only one could come out on top. So, who won?

Donald Trump has had some trouble over the past few weeks staying on message in his debates, instead resorting to jabs and insults at his opponent. All the while, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to each debate prepared and seemingly immune to Mr Trump’s attacks.

During this final debate in Las Vegas, Mr Trump did appear somewhat more prepared than he had in previous debates – although, expectations for the real estate magnate were low and a behavioural adjustment would appear to improve.

But viewers do not appear to have bought Mr Trump’s toned down performance, which was still rife with racist dog whistles when he referred to Mexican criminals as “bad hombres”, sexism when he called Ms Clinton a “nasty woman”, and despotic undertones when he suggested he would not accept the results of the election if he lost.

But according to the latest YouGov poll, Hillary Clinton won the debate hands down.

Of the 1503 registered voters who watched the debate, 49 per cent found that Ms Clinton won; while 39 per cent thought Mr Trump won. Only 12 per cent thought the debate ended in a tie.

A large majority, 68 per cent, of those surveyed said that the candidates should “pledge to accept the result of the election” – which included 51 Republicans. Only 14 per cent opposed such a pledge, while 18 per cent did not know.

When it came to temperament and fitness, Ms Clinton dominated. Sixty-nine per cent said that Ms Clinton demonstrated “excellent” or “good” knowledge of policies, as opposed to Mr Trump’s 40.

Some 59 per cent of viewers surveyed also found Ms Clinton presidential, while Mr Trump only earned 40 on this point.

On the issues, the candidates were basically tied.