Trump opens wide lead over competitors in national poll

Published February 12, 2016 1:46pm ET



Donald Trump has more than double the support than any of his Republican presidential rivals.

Almost half of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters back Trump following his victory in the New Hampshire GOP primary Tuesday, according to a Morning Consult poll released Friday.

With 44 percent of support, Trump bests his next closest competitor by a large margin, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, at 17 percent.

Since before the primary, Cruz has seen his support stay the same, while Trump has risen 6 percentage points.

Trailing them are retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, both at 10 percent each. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has 8 percent, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 4 percent.

Six percent “don’t know” or have “no opinion” on which Republican candidate they support, while 1 percent prefer “someone else.”

Trump is also viewed favorably by over six in 10 of his party’s voters. The billionaire businessman has a 67 percent favorability rating, while Rubio is at 62 percent and Cruz at 61 percent.

The survey of 710 Republican and Republican-leaning independent voters nationwide was conducted Feb. 10-11 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.