Magnate Donald Trump leads a new voter-preference poll of Republican presidential hopefuls by 20 percent over his closest rival, Sen. Realizing our poll was being done at a point while Carson was falling nationally in the polls… if the Republican primary were held today, Trump would win.
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was at 4 percent, ahead of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who tied former Hewlett-Packer executive Carly Fiorina at 3 percent.
Bush: 3 percent in latest Republican poll.
Amazingly, as strong as Trump has been polling even before this, the 36% of support he garnered on this poll is now both the highest percentage and largest lead he’s ever had since announcing his candidacy for president. Marco Rubio of Florida, who still must be considered an up and comer, is at 12 percent.
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is accusing President Obama of refusing to “confront” the enemy and Cruz is criticizing Obama and others for advocating new gun control measures after the mass shooting this week in California. Rand Paul has 1 percent.
The CNN/ORC poll had one more striking finding.
Despite the fear and worry that many Republicans feel over Trump, none of them are willing to step forward and lead on that front, and the reason why seems more akin to why a playground bully is allowed to terrorize his classmates rather than political discourse.
Last month, Trump had 24 per cent, with 23 per cent for Carson.
In the CNN/ORC poll, most surveyed said Trump is the best qualified to tackle issues related to the economy (55 percent, with Cruz next at 9 percent), illegal immigration (48 percent to Rubio’s 14), foreign policy (30 percent to Cruz’s 17), the Islamic State (46 percent to Cruz’s 15) and the federal budget (51 percent to Cruz’s 10).
Several other recent polls have shown Trump reclaiming a solid lead atop the Republican field after several weeks of near parity with Carson, CNN noted.
There’s a sharp divide among Republican voters on these questions about deportation between those who back Trump and those who do not.
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The New York businessman did best among Tea Party voters. The margin of error is +/- 4.5 percent.
