Donald Trump Hits 41 Percent Support and Widest Lead Yet in New National Poll
— -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is climbing to his highest support yet in a new national poll.
The real estate mogul earned a broad 41 percent support from Republicans and Republican-leaning registered voters in a new national Monmouth University poll released today. This is Trump’s highest support and widest lead of any national poll yet this election cycle.
In the poll conducted Dec. 10-13, after unveiling his proposed Muslim ban, Trump holds a staggering 27-point lead over Sen. Ted Cruz, who holds 14 percent support. Sen. Marco Rubio has 10 percent support and Ben Carson has 9 percent. Trump climbed 13 percentage points since the last Monmouth University poll in late October.
The poll tallies support among registered voters who describe themselves as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents with no screening for whether or not they are likely to actually vote in their state's primary or caucus.
"Trump is tapping into the phenomenon," said Patrick Murray, who leads the Monmouth poll. "The more he says things that make the Republican leaders cringe, the more he attracts people to his side."
Ben Carson, on the other hand, continues his downward spiral, dropping into the single digits for the first time in a national poll since mid-August.
Trump earns support from a majority of Republican-leaning voters with a high school education and those with strong tea party support. He also garners the support of 44 percent of men and 37 percent of women.
Jeb Bush, for his part, earned 3 percent support nationally but earned only a 34 percent favorability rating -- the lowest of the GOP candidates included in the poll.
Two-thirds of Republican voters said they would be "enthusiastic" or "satisfied" if Trump is the nominee. Less than three in 10 said they would be "dissatisfied" or "upset."
