Latest polls show only one dominant GOP candidate

Qunnipiac’s findings are quite different from other national polls that have Trump at 34% and Cruz at 18% or Trump at 41% and Cruz at 14%. Trump has appeared on the conservative cable outlet Fox News more than any other candidate.

The backdrop to all this is a mood of anxiety – both economic and personal security – pervading the GOP electorate in these early states. Among Republicans who watched, 33 percent thought Trump did best, followed by Cruz at 28 percent, then Rubio with 13 percent.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, he talked about being the front runner. Texas Senator Ted Cruz is just four points behind Trump with 24 percent support. Trump’s support remains stable, but Cruz’s influx of converts is more than enough to help take the lead.

More voters, 62 percent, believe Cruz has the right type of experience to be president, while 57 percent believe Trump has the right experience.

Quinnipiac’s national polling has consistently shown lower support for Trump than other national phone polls, and that seems to be the case again in Tuesday’s survey. The good news for Trump and the tougher news for Cruz is that the former’s support is far more locked in than the latter’s.

Ted Cruz’s supporters are a little less firmly decided, and more say they “probably won’t change”, as opposed to being decided. That consolidation is reflected in voters’ overall preferences.

A new study finds Republicans are embarrassed to admit they’ll vote for Trump.

Asked who would be best in taking on the Islamic State, 47 percent chose Trump, who has called for banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Cruz, who has risen in the polls since the terrorist attacks in Paris, was second with 21 percent. Cruz has seen some increase on that last measure since the beginning of the month, but Trump still wins it in a walk. He’s still up about two-to-one over his nearest competitor. Marco Rubio (R-FL) both slipped a few points and are now tied with 10 percent.

Perhaps obviously, Trump’s supporters are most likely to think the GOP has its best shot with Trump as its nominee (85% say so), but even among those who aren’t current supporters, 21% think Trump would be better than the alternative. None of Trump’s wives go to the bathroom, you see.

The GOP’s biggest obstacle to overcoming the Trump phenomenon is that they simply haven’t identified their alternative candidate.

Chris Christie, who is becoming a problem for Rubio, is at six percent.

REUTERS/Mike BlakeFor the past five months, real-estate tycoon Donald Trump has led all but two national polls of the Republican presidential primary. Almost half (46 percent) of Republican voters without a degree support Trump, compared to college graduates at 27 percent. They feel these things “need to be discussed”. “He simply is tapping into that and voters are overlooking the heavy retail component that Trump has not been able to engage in – partly because of his strong popularity and large crowds”.