Conservatives don’t seem to know what to make of this new level Trump has gone to in his political rhetoric.
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“Both of them I like and respect”, said Mr. Cruz, according to one attendee, who requested anonymity to describe what happened at a private event.
And while she said Rubio is in a good position in Iowa and elsewhere, she admitted that Cruz is “going to do pretty well in Iowa”.
The CNN/ORC Poll drew its sample from Iowa adults, asking those reached about their intention to participate in their caucus, interest in news about the caucuses, and past participation patterns to determine who would be a likely voter. Other than immigration, where he faced conservative opposition in 2013, Rubio is close to a consensus choice for the GOP, well-placed to win the nomination. In October, this group gave their vote to Carson (30%) over Trump (22%), Cruz (17%), and Rubio (8%). “As a US attorney and then a big-state governor, he is the one candidate who has the range and type of experience the nation desperately needs”, the New Hampshire Union Leader’s publisher, Joseph McQuaid, wrote in an editorial November 28. But unless you’re at the bottom, like Jeb Bush, you can nearly ignore national polls; they don’t tell us much about the final outcome. That doesn’t mean Americans are “bigoted” against Muslims; it means they understand there is a threat and they’re constantly proven right about that.
SC surge: Trump’s comments angered many Republicans as well as Democrats. This means that a President Rubio would have no problem with deporting people who were brought to the country as children and who call the United States home.
In September, Trump signed a “loyalty pledge” to the GOP amid rumors that he would potentially run third-party, but those rumors resurfaced last month, after Trump accused the GOP of not holding up their end of a “deal”. Roughly 20 percent of Republicans in the Hawkeye State said King’s support makes them more inclined to back Cruz come February 1, including 7 percent who claim King’s endorsement makes them “a lot more likely”. Although Carson’s popularity has declined, he’s still in fourth place with 13 percent.
The vast majority of the Republican electorate, and a majority of the voting public, wants something done about what they see as a civilizational conflict with the Muslim world.
Bush was the early SC frontrunner – along with Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who has since dropped out of the race. But there as well, Rubio lags. Ted Cruz by 6 percent and former business executive Carly Fiorina and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson each by 5 percent in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent, and this put Christie, Bush, Kasich, Cruz, Fiorina and Carson at a statistical tie.
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Because polls aren’t set in stone, it’s tempting to take this all with a grain of salt. Twenty-six percent say they’re leaning toward a candidate, but 56 percent say they’re still trying to decide.
