WSJ Poll: Hillary Leads Trump and Cruz but Trails Rubio and Carson

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has surged to 41 percent support in a new national poll on the 2016 GOP field out Monday, leading his nearest competitor, Sen. Ben Carson was third with 13 percent in the poll, with Marco Rubio at approximately 10 percent. No other candidate is above 5 percent.

I’m glad there were some Republican officials last week who denounced Trump’s bigotry, but it’s important to appreciate the fact that those critics are out of step with the party’s right-wing base – even as Trump gives voice to what the far-right activists believe. Trump is also enjoying his peak favorability among these voters: 61 percent have a favorable impression of him, 29 percent are unfavorable, and just 10 have no opinion.

Trump took to Twitter to call out Cruz, saying the Texas senator would be an easy challenge.

That would be Texas Senator Ted Cruz, at 22 percent.

If Trump’s bad head-to-head poll numbers against Clinton continue, that could seriously hurt his chances when Republican voters start heading to the polls in February and March. While Sen. Cruz is technically part of the establishment, he is considered a firebrand – much like the outsiders – and “some wonder if it could be Cruz that emerges as the compromise candidate”, CNN reported.

“These are two things that, if you’re a conservative voter in the Republican primary, these two things have gotta raise some red flags for you people, I would think”, he said. “Or is Cruz ready to make his move in Iowa resonate nationally?”

But experts and recent polls agree that Cruz, a first-term senator with huge backing from the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement and evangelical Christians, has emerged as Trump’s rival of the moment.

There was also a major poll conducted of New Hampshire Republicans, and it too found Trump’s support growing, not shrinking. Behind Rubio, a passel of candidates range in support from 7% to 9% – Carson and Cruz each average 9%, Bush 8% and Kasich and Christie 7%.

TRUMP: When you look at the way he has dealt with the Senate, where he goes in there like a – frankly, like a little bit of a maniac.

Yet Trump has been lethal to those who have challenged him.

“I don’t think he’s qualified to be president because I don’t think he has the right temperament”, Trump said in an interview on Fox News Sunday.