Republicans may be ready to hire Donald Trump.
According to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Trump is the second choice of self-identified Republicans to represent the party in 2012. Trump, the brash real estate magnate, reality talk show host, and recent Comedy Central roastee, tied Mike Huckabee for second place, and trailed only former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the party nod.
In the poll, 21% of respondents said Romney was their pick for the GOP nomination, while 17% broke for both Trump and Huckabee. Newt Gingrich came in fourth at 11%, followed by Sarah Palin (10%), Tim Pawlenty (6%) and Michele Bachmann (5%.)
That’s a sharp change sicne February, the last time NBC and the Wall Street Journal surveyed the GOP primary. In that poll, Huckabee came out on top with 25%, followed by Romney at 21%, Gingrich at 13%, and Palin at 12%. Neither Trump nor Bachmann were listed in that poll, and their inclusion in the latest survey sucked support from front of the pack.
Trump has amped up the noise about a potential presidential bid in recent weeks, frequently popping up on news and talk shows and, in an appeal to birthers, questioning President Obama’s citizenship. And according to the poll, that play to the party’s edge may be paying off.
A full fifth (20%) of Tea Party supporters broke for Trump in the poll, while 17% went for Romney, 12% backed Huckabee, and 12% supported Palin.
Two other polls released this week also had good news for a possible Trump campaign, as they found him running strong in the two earliest primary nominating contests. A Neighborhood Research poll found Trump in third place for the Iowa caucus, while a PPP poll showed Trump running second in New Hampshire, just six points back of top vote-getter Mitt Romney.
The poll was conducted March 31 through April 4 among 238 registered Republican voters.
