Ted Cruz is rocketing upwards in a new batch of polls

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have solidified their positions atop the Republican presidential pack, but their success doesn’t bode well for the Republican Party’s chances of reclaiming the White House, according to a new poll.

And in the Palmetto State, where the Republican frontrunner maintains one of his most commanding leads in early primary state polls, backers of the real estate mogul told ABC News how their uneasiness with the threats facing the country and frustrations with politics as usual have drawn them to Trump – whose brash style and independent wealth, they say, bolster his authenticity.

“It has become abundantly clear that Trump is giving his supporters exactly what they want, even if what he says causes the GOP leadership and many Republican voters to cringe”, said Patrick Murray, director of the polling institute in West Long Branch, N.J. Though it did stir some of his 2016 rivals like Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Lindsey Graham and Chris Christie to voice their dissent, they fell short of saying they would not support him if nominated. But if your support his idea about Muslims, you should. The results, while shocking to many observers, couldn’t have been as shocking as Monmouth’s latest national poll. Rubio has tried to brand Cruz as an isolationist and has criticized his support for ending the bulk collection of Americans’ phone records, saying it weakens the government’s ability to identify potential terrorists.

If the general election were held today, Clinton would have 50 percent of support, 10 points over Trump. Trump’s standing among women has fallen slightly, down four points since October (41 percent to 37 percent this time), though he has gained three points with men (41 percent to 44 percent). Dr. Ben Carson is at 10 percent.

Trump came in at 26 percent with Marco Rubio at 17 percent and Ted Cruz at 16 percent.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they have a very or mostly favorable view of Muslims, while 29 percent said their view of the adherents to Islam was very or mostly unfavorable. Only 2% of supporters are under 30 and around 33% are over 65.

Last week, a Monmouth University poll of likely Iowa Republican Caucus voters thrust U.S. Sen. But signs of a split have emerged in recent days, with Cruz appearing to question Trump’s judgment at a private fundraiser, according to audio obtained by The New York Times, and Trump calling Cruz “a little bit of a maniac”.

As a group, they seemed unwilling or unable to take any strong and open stand against Mr. Trump in defense of their party and its basic tenets, which obviously include freedom of religion and that there be no religious test for participation in Republican ranks. “I could be at the meeting right now”.

Cruz had a lighthearted response to the “maniac” label on Twitter later on Sunday, posting a link to a video clip from the 1983 film “Flashdance” showing star Jennifer Beals dancing energetically as the hit song “Maniac” plays on the soundtrack. It has a 5 percent margin of error.