He may still be the Republican front-runner, but Donald Trump’s lead has dropped by 3 points nationally, according to a new poll released the day of the Wisconsin primary.
In a new NBC News/SurveyMonkey online poll released Tuesday, Trump’s national support among Republicans has fallen from 48 percent to 45 percent in the past week.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz trails Trump in second place with 28 percent, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 18 percent.
The 17-point margin between Trump and Cruz is at its smallest since mid-February.
Though his numbers have dipped nationally, he still is strong in other demographics, the poll found. For example, 42 percent of women still support Trump this week, compared to 45 percent last week.
The one demographic where Trump does not do well is among very conservative Republican primary voters. Cruz bests Trump in this demographic nationally, 45 percent to 41 percent. In 2012, 32 percent of Wisconsin Republican primary voters identified themselves as very conservative.
The online poll of 14,071 adults aged 18 and over, including 12,116 who say they are registered to vote, was conducted March 28-April 3 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
In Tuesday’s crucial Wisconsin primary, 42 delegates are up for grabs.
Of the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination, Trump has 737, Cruz has 475 and Kasich has 143.
