News / Politics

Trump still leading Republican field, new national poll shows

Wednesday, 20 January 2016 6:20 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 January 2016 4:59 AM ]

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, January 19, 2016. (AFP photo)

US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has maintained his commanding national lead over the crowded GOP field in the race for the party's nomination, a new poll shows.

The Monmouth University national survey, released on Wednesday, found that the New York billionaire is leading the race with 36 percent national support, a 5-point drop from the same poll in December 2015.

Trailing behind Trump was Texas Senator Ted Cruz who stood at a distant second with 17 percent, marking a 3-point gain since the last poll.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio ranked in the third with 11 percent support, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 8 and 5 percent support respectively.

The rest of the candidates failed to score more than three percent support in the poll.

The survey also found that Republican voters view Trump as the strongest candidate to take on the leading Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, with 37 percent saying that he has the best chance to defeat the former first lady. Some 24 percent had the same idea about Cruz.

However, the participants were not asked about possible match-ups with the other Democratic contender Bernie Sanders, who has been gaining on Clinton nationally. The Vermont Senator remains behind the ex-Secretary of State by more than 11 points, but is leading her 60-33 percent in New Hampshire.

Additionally, the poll found that Jeb Bush is still the least favorable candidate in the field, where 32 percent viewed him positively versus 47 percent who did so negatively. Trump was the most favorable candidate with a 57-32 percent voting.

There is less than two weeks left until the primary elections in New Hampshire and Iowa, the first in a series of nationwide elections to determine which candidates will represent their party in the upcoming presidential election in November.

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