Donald Trump’s lead over his Republican rivals is widening, according to a new poll by CNN. According to the survey, 36 percent of registered Republicans say they support the businessman, a commanding lead over presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, who hold much less impressive support rates of 16 percent and 14 percent respectively. Marco Rubio, who has seen a slight increase in support since October, holds 12 percent of Republican voters in the poll, while Jeb Bush has lost almost all support from the Republican party at 3 percent.
More than half of those polled indicated that they believe Trump has the best chance of any Republican candidate of winning, while 55 percent say that Trump’s influence as president would be best for the U.S. economy.
In an analysis of the collected data, CNN identified a clear pattern among voters involving education. Of the voters who hold college degrees, the GOP presidential race is fairly even with Cruz leading at 22 percent, Carson and Rubio tied at 19 percent, and Trump sitting at fourth place with 18 percent of support. However, when only looking at those without college degrees, Trump holds a secure lead, with 46 percent support among those with a high school education or less, compared to just 12 percent for Cruz, 11 percent for Carson, and a mere 8 percent for Rubio.
While the polls indicate a new high for Trump, Steven Shepard from Politico doesn’t think his nomination is locked in just yet, citing concerns with the accuracy of CNN’s polling strategies. CNN’s poll was conducted by telephone using a sample size of 1,020 adults, 445 who were Republican voters or leaning towards the Republican Party. Shepard questioned whether or not the sample size was really enough to indicate what the U.S. as a whole thought about the matter.
However, Shepard did note that in a different poll by Quinnipac, nearly half of those polled said they wouldn’t change their mind about Trump. Of the other candidates, only 33 percent of Cruz’s supporters indicated they were sure he was the right man for the job, while 26 percent of Carson’s supporters and 23 percent of Rubio’s said the same.
Quinnipiac’s Peter Brown said that their poll results are “not a sure thing”, but are still a pretty good indicator of Trump being in a good spot.
One of the key factors playing into Trump’s support is the issue of immigration. Of Trump’s supporters, 67 percent believe that the U.S. should deport all illegal residents, while only 39 percent of the supporters of other GOP presidential candidates say the same. Trump has been very vocal on his stance to crack down hard on those living in the country illegally, a sentiment that appears to have resonated with many.
