HEMPSTEAD, United States - A CNN/ORC poll and experts at Hofstra University said Hillary Clinton was the winner of Monday night's presidential debate.

Shortly after the first face-off between the Democratic nominee and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in the 2016 election cycle, the poll showed an "overwhelming victory" for Clinton, with 62 percent of Americans who watched the debate saying Clinton won, compared to 27 percent who said Trump won.

Experts in political science and rhetoric at Hofstra University expressed views similar to the results of the poll, which was jointly carried out by US broadcaster CNN and market research firm ORC International.

The experts argued that Trump spent too much time explaining his decision for not releasing his tax returns, while failing to attack Clinton more aggressively for her mishandling of her private email servers and the corruption allegations against the Clinton Foundation.

Meanwhile, they also said Clinton should have made her points more precise for the general public to understand.

The debate marked the first of three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate that will take place before the Nov 8 election day.

The performance of each candidate at the debates could be crucial to clinching the presidency, as various polls have showed a tightened race in many of the swing states in recent weeks.