Donald Trump Just Posted His Most Massive Lead Yet

In fact, the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll getting all the attention today, the one with Cruz only -5 points behind Trump (27% to 22%), appears to be the real outlier. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush.

CNN’s early debate will feature just four candidates: former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rand Paul all at 2%.

In this December 12, 2015, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a town hall meeting in the Convocation Center on the University of South Carolina Aiken campus in Aiken, S.C. Trump’s supporters don’t see… She holds a 10-point margin over Trump and three-point lead over Cruz.

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.

Cruz’s campaign has energetically targeted Iowa, attempting to reach voters in all of the state’s 99 counties. Trump is front and center, with Ben Carson on his right and Ted Cruz on his left, with a total of nine participants on the stage. After polling between 26% and 30% in Monmouth polls throughout the late summer and fall, Trump’s showing has increased by 13 points from his 28% result in mid-October. Coverage of that debate will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Trump, who previously declined to attack Cruz, signaled a new willingness to take the gloves off, calling him “a bit of a maniac” after Cruz was recorded at a private fundraiser questioning Trump’s judgment.

Carson faces a dead heat when matched with Clinton in a hypothetical general election, taking 47% to Clinton’s 46%, according to the poll.

In New Hampshire, a larger turnout means the task is somewhat easier, and the most recent polls are more closely aligned with each other. “My preference would be for him to stay on his own course and not get sucked into other people’s efforts to take one or the other candidates down”.

“Both of them I like and respect”, Cruz said of Trump and fellow GOP candidate Ben Carson on the audio tape.