The prospects of many GOP presidential hopefuls vastly improved since April, according to new Wall Street Journal/NBC News polling results released on Sunday.
The poll results showed Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina gained substantial ground with primary voters in the weeks since they announced their candidacy.
Support for the former governors in the race held strong, with potential support for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush edging upward with Republican primary voters who said they “were open” to his candidacy.
Support for former Gov. Bush rose from 70 percent to 75 percent in the April-to-June period.
Meanwhile, support for the Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker holds strong with 57 percent of GOP voters saying they support him. That could grow once he announces his candidacy next month. Support for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida stayed unchanged since April at around 74 percent.
Yet other presidential contenders, like Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, moved backwards. The poll showed support for Paul falling from 59 percent in April to 49 percent in mid-June.
The fall in voter support for Paul tracked with the senator’s battle on the floor with the GOP over extending the National Security Agency’s phone record collection and surveillance program.
