Donald Trump has started hot in New Hampshire. A Suffolk University poll released today shows 14 percent of likely GOP voters surveyed support former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, while approximately 11 percent of likely voters support Trump, the billionaire businessman.
The poll shows Trump has nearly as much support as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul combined. But Trump also was the only Republican with a net unfavorable rating in the survey, as 49 percent of likely voters viewed him unfavorably and 37 percent viewed him favorably. The poll of 500 likely voters was conducted from the day following Trump’s announcement through June 22.
Trump, who formally filed his Statement of Candidacy with the FEC on Monday, has taken fire from all sides for controversial statements he made during his announcement speech last week.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump said. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump seemed to slightly alter that inflammatory comment on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Monday, and said, “I’m not talking about keeping Mexicans out; I’m talking about keeping the whole world out.”
New Hampshire Republicans, and New England at large, are likely receptive to Trump’s hardline stance on immigration. During the middle of the southern border crisis last summer, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed, “Opposition to illegal immigration is higher in New England than in much of the rest of the country.” Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown used the immigration and national security issues to make his 2014 bid for the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire competitive, but was ultimately defeated.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Rubio, who have rhetorically moved to the right on immigration, came in third and fourth in the poll. Rubio scored the highest net favorability rating with 61 percent of likely voters viewing him favorably and just 14 percent viewing him unfavorably. Among the likely voters’ top second choices, Bush and Rubio finished first and second.
