In most polls, including the Examiner’s Power Rankings, Donald Trump continues to lead the Republican field, but Ben Carson continues to nip at his heels a little more than a week out from the next GOP debate.
According to the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Trump continues to hold a tenuous lead over Carson, 25 percent to 22 percent.
In addition, Sen. Marco Rubio has also surged into the spot just south of the two outsiders, pulling in 13 percent support, which is up from 11 percent in September.
Following the Florida senator is the trio of Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Carly Fiorina, who pull 9, 8, and 7 percent, respectively. Fiorina garnered 11 percent support in the previous WSJ poll.
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Strikingly, the poll also shows that more GOP voters would be willing to pull the lever for Trump than Bush, who has been battling the real estate mogul throughout the early part of the race. Forty-four percent of respondants said they could not see themselves supporting the Florida governor, while only 36 percent said the same of Trump. In March, that number stood at 74 percent for Trump, a massive turn for the good for Trump’s viability.
The two have been caught up in a spat over Sept. 11, 2001 and the responsibility held by former President George W. Bush, with the pair slamming each other’s statements on the issue.
In addition, Carson and Rubio continue to be held in high regard amongst the GOP primary electorate — with 74 and 65 percent of those polled, respectively, saying they could envision voting for them.
The poll also shows a rift between the top six candidates and everyone else in the field. After Fiorina at seven percent no other candidate pulls higher than three percent, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tied.
