ORC Poll: Trump alone at the top again

Leading Republican presidential aspirant Donald Trump now maintains a strong 20 point lead over his nearest rival Senator Ted Cruz in the grand old party, according to a latest national opinion poll on Friday.

Former Republican Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who was a closer adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, said while Trump has clearly locked in a solid bloc of supporters, the majority of GOP voters are still up for grabs.

Yet those in the party should should “avoid piling on the nominee” and “limit the Trump criticisms (other than obvious free kicks)”, the memo states. After that, Rubio checks in at just 15 percent, while Cruz and Carson flounder even further behind at 11 and 10 percent respectively. Ted Cruz jumped 12 points and moved into second place.

Trump picked up nine points from the CNN/ORC poll conducted in mid-October, while Carson dropped nine points and Rubio gained four points. Marco Rubio of Florida at 12 percent.

Speaking to reporters before a candidate forum in Cedar Rapids, Cruz said Republican voters are starting to coalesce behind his candidacy.

Several other recent polls have shown Trump reclaiming a solid lead atop the Republican field after several weeks of near parity with Carson, CNN noted. Ben Carson says he’s not anxious about his standing in Iowa.

The poll reflects Trump’s dominance over the rest of the field on the issues voters deem most important to them.

Forty-eight percent said they back Clinton, compared to 28 percent for Sanders and 3 percent for former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

The new poll finds the businessman with his broadest support since he announced his candidacy in June, despite his increasingly inflammatory comments. He soon drew a smattering of boos after refusing to say whether Jerusalem should serve as the undivided capital of Israel, a priority for many in America’s pro-Israel lobby. Cruz leads among college-educated voters with a 22% share, followed by Carson, Rubio and then Trump.

For those greatly concerned about combating ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria, 49% say they trust Donald Trump. The media pundits and partisans have taken to fretting about Trump winning the Republican nomination.

The real-estate mogul was once a prominent “birther” who questioned whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States and is a Christian, and he seemed to revert to that position in a brief mention of Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.

Bottom line: Predictions that Trump’s support would wane by now are proving wrong, and the changes for several low-performing candidates who were once thought to be serious contenders now appear to be flickering faintly.