The change for Carson goes well outside the margin of error, and it’s not an outlier.
Advertisement
There are signs, though, that the Republican presidential primary is still wide open.
The main challenge for Rubio will be to pick up a part of Trump’s and Carson’s moderates and “somewhat conservative” voters, while Cruz will have to gun for their very conservative, Tea Party and evangelical supporters. This means that Cruz and Rubio are effectively tied and both gunning for the important 20% threshold. It’s his best showing in the poll since August, and a 3-point increase from last month.
In what is sure to raise the ire of the left, and feminists as well, Cruz attacked Clinton for trying to scare voters and distract them from other issues.
Appearing on the Hugh Hewitt Show on Tuesday, Trump said, “When you have the world looking at us and would like to destroy us as quickly as possible, I err on the side of security”. Carson had a 10-point lead over Hillary, but now she edges him 46/43.
The question for Rubio is whether he can find a way past the Teflon Don, whose numbers don’t seem to budge no matter what he says or does on the campaign trail.
Among all voters, 63 percent said she had a good chance of defeating the GOP presidential nominee next November, compared with 32 percent who said she did not.
Still dogged by the “Bridgegate” scandal and controversy over his handling of New Jersey’s budget and pension program, Christie has camped out in the Granite State and is presenting himself as a seasoned chief executive and former prosecutor who has far more experience in governance than Rubio and Cruz, the two 44-year old Senate freshmen. Then, Carson was polling at 23 percent. According to the poll, 59% say Trump is not honest or trustworthy, versus 28% who say he is. Bernie Sanders, grabbing 60 percent to his 30 percent.
If Cruz is to prevail, he must pass Trump as well as other Republican opponents – including another first term senator, Marco Rubio of Florida, who has been the subject of Cruz attacks. “When I see the poll results, everything I’ve seen says there’s one candidate that has serious momentum, and that’s Ted Cruz”. PolitiFact rated the ad’s claim that Cruz stopped Rubio from passing an amnesty bill as “mostly false”.
Texas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Sen.
“Dr. Ben Carson, moving to center stage just one month ago, now needs some CPR”, he added.
Clinton is now leading against Trump, Rubio, Cruz and Carson.
“Even Cruz, I think he’s going to have to hit me”, Trump told a near-capacity crowd of more than 9,000 in Macon, Ga., during a more than 80-minute speech.
Advertisement
Just six percent said they could never back Cruz – a number matched only by Rubio, at 5 percent.
