Donald Trump third-party candidacy not likely, GOP chairman says

None of the other Republican candidates gained double-digit support. His criticism came after news broke that a top fundraiser for the governor had referred to Trump as “Dumb Dumb” in an email to supporters. “If our candidates want to win, then they’ll have to run as a Republican“, Priebus told NBC.

As for the prospect of a Trump independent bid – should he not win the Republican nomination – Priebus said: “I don’t see that happening”. A whopping 85 percent of Republican voters either answered “not too well” or “not well at all” when asked “How well do you feel the government in Washington represents the views of people like yourself?”

Trump has called Lindsey Graham an “idiot”, labeled Jeb Bush an “unhappy person” who is “out of touch”, and has mocked Rick Perry’s glasses. In New Hampshire, Trumps favorability rating was only at 39 percent, while 53 percent think of him unfavorably.

Among Republican voters, the poll showed that Trump has gained ground in the past month despite controversial comments about the war record of Arizona Republican Sen. During his last visit to the state Trump sparked controversy when he said Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a former POW, was not a war hero. Based on numbers from a new nationwide poll, the news shouldn’t surprise members of the Republican Party.

Priebus said in response to a question of whether he fears Trump running as an Independent and has to “tiptoe” around Trump to make sure he doesn’t run as a third party candidate stated, “No, I don’t think so”. In fact, there’s an element of that in both parties.

As Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has turned up the rhetoric on immigration, his support has pushed him to the top of the field.

Despite Trumps confidence, CNN also said that his popularity does not translate so much to the broader pool of voters: overall, 59% of all registered voters have an unfavorable opinion of the billionaire, although the number dips nearer to 42% among GOP voters.

Trump holds 18 percent support among Republicans in a CNN/ORC worldwide Poll released Sunday morning. Bush is at 12%, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 8% and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 7%. However, earlier this year Clinton had a 56 percent lead over Sanders. The rest of the field is about even with where they were before.

– At a meeting of the Utility Workers Union of America in Florida last week, Sanders also fared well, winning 65 percent of the vote in cell phone poll of the 400 elected delegates to the convention.