Despite Krauthammer’s predictions, Rasmussen’s new poll shows Trump gaining ground in the aftermath of Jeb!’s dropping out of the race. (Note: There is a significant +/- 4 percentage points margin of error.)
With Jeb Bush out, Donald Trump has widened his lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Voters finds Trump with 36% support, giving him a 15-point lead over Senator Marco Rubio who earns 21% of the vote. Senator Ted Cruz is in third place with 17%.
For Trump, that’s a five-point gain in support from the beginning of this month just after the Iowa caucus and right before the New Hampshire primary when it was Trump 31%, Rubio 21% and Cruz 20% among likely GOP voters. Rubio’s support has held steady, while support for Cruz has fallen slightly.
Some other interesting (and not altogether unrelated) observations from the poll:
- Seventy-one percent (71%) of Republican voters now favor building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and among these voters Trump holds a commanding 43% lead, with Rubio end Cruz earning 18% and 19% of that vote respectively.
- Republican voters are more likely to consider Trump a moderate than a conservative.
- The order of the candidates is Trump, Rubio and Cruz among Republicans of all ages, but Trump runs strongest among those under 40.
- The billionaire businessman has a two-to-one lead over Rubio among male GOP primary voters. He leads the Florida senator among women Republicans as well but by a narrower seven-point margin.
