Donald Trump is continuing to run away with the Republican presidential nomination. The latest poll shows that 36% of Republican voters support the businessman and reality television star. His nearest competitor, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, is 20 points behind him at 16%.
Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson has fallen to third place at 14%. Florida Senator Marco Rubio sits in fourth place at 12%. Every other Republican candidate has 5% or less.
Since the last poll, Trump has gained nine points, while Cruz has gained 12 points. Rubio has also made a slight gain, increasing by four points.
As for the losers, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is down to 3%, while Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is down to 1%. Fiorina is also ranking low in the polls.
There is a major divide between Republican voters with different levels of education. GOP voters with college degrees preferred Cruz, who has the support of 22% of college educated voters. Carson and Rubio are tied in second place with 19%. Trump sits in fourth place with 18%.
But when it comes to Republicans without college degrees, Trump is far and away the leader with a whopping 46% of support. Cruz holds 12%, Carson has 11%, and Rubio maintains just 8%.
As for now, Trump’s lead is the highest since he originally announced his candidacy in June. Trump leads the Republican field in several specific categories, including the economy, the federal budget, immigration, terrorism and foreign policy. These leads are even more prominent when one focuses exclusively on individuals who find such issues to be “extremely important”.
When it comes to solving the country’s problems, 42% of Republican voters say Trump is the man for the job. This is at least three times the amount of any other Republican candidate. Meanwhile, 52% of Republican voters believe that Trump has the best chance of winning the Republican nomination.
It should be mentioned that the most recent poll took place before the mass shootings in San Bernardino, CA, so it is still unknown if that event reshaped the Republican field.
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