Ted Cruz has seen his lead grow in Wisconsin over the past two weeks, according to a poll released Monday.
The new Emerson College Polling Society poll says Cruz leads Donald Trump by five points in Wisconsin, 40-35 percent. Two weeks ago, Cruz led by just one point, 36-35. Ohio Gov. John Kasich sits at 21 percent in the new poll.
Wisconsin voters head to the polls Tuesday for the Badger State’s primary, where 42 delegates are up for grabs. The statewide winner will get 18 delegates, and candidates will get three delegates for every one of the eight congressional districts they win. Cruz is ahead in five of those eight districts, according to the poll.
One reason Cruz has pulled away from Trump could be favorability ratings. Among likely GOP primary voters, Trump has a favorable to unfavorable rating of 42-53 percent, while Cruz and Kasich are both viewed much more favorably. Cruz’s rating is 58-38, while Kasich’s is 69-24.
Cruz also has leads among males (43 percent) compared to Trump (36 percent) and Kasich (16 percent); he also leads women compared to Trump and Kasich.
In hypothetical general election matchups, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton leads Trump 47-37, and leads Cruz 46-43. However, Kasich leads Clinton in that matchup, 52-38.
The telephone poll of 549 likely GOP presidential primary voters in Wisconsin was conducted March 30 through April 3 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
