A new national poll shows the gap between the upper and lower tiers of the GOP presidential candidates has grown more pronounced. A Bloomberg Politics national poll released on Thursday showed the number of unsure and “uncommitted” voters has been cut nearly in half in the past month.
As a result the four candidates who received double-digit support in the new poll include Donald Trump at 21 percentage points, Ben Carson at 16 percentage points, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 13 percentage points, and Carly Fiorina at 11 percentage points. Only Trump and Bush received double-digit support in Bloomberg’s August poll.
Trump, who is No. 1 in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, has not gained or lost any ground since Bloomberg’s previous poll, while Carson jumped 11 percentage points, Fiorina improved by ten points, and Bush gained three points. Two candidates lost support in the poll, namely former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also dropped 7 percentage points and has since quit the race.
Trump and Paul are viewed the most unfavorably while Carson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio received the highest favorable ratings.
The poll also showed a plurality of voters, 37 percentage points, want a “government outsider,” while 27 percent of respondents said they preferred a governor and another 27 percent of those surveyed want a U.S. senator.
A whopping two-thirds of respondents said they believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, which is the “highest level recorded in a Bloomberg national poll since December 2013.”
The poll surveyed 1,001 adults from September 18-21 and had a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.
