Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is gaining fast on longtime Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, according to an Ipsos/Reuters poll released Tuesday, having closed Trump’s lead by nearly 20 percentage points since late February.
The latest poll showed support for Trump at 40 percent and Cruz at 35 percent. This represents a modest gain since last week’s Ipsos/Reuters poll for Cruz, who stood at 30 percent to Trump’s 37 percent.
However, Cruz has registered a much more spectacular gain over the month of March, having stood at 17 percent to Trump’s 35 percent at the end of February.
These results contrast strongly with most recent polling, which has shown Cruz making only marginal gains while Trump continues to hold the same wide lead over the rest of the field that he has enjoyed since the summer, with only rare interruptions. But Trump has recently faced spirited and protracted attacks and stagnated in polls, while Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) consolidated the support of outgoing Republican candidates.
TPM’s PollTracker Average shows Trump at 42.6 percent, Cruz at 28.3 percent and Kasich at 17 percent.
The Ipsos/Reuters poll was carried out online from April 1-5. Pollsters surveyed 568 people likely to vote in the Republican primary, with a margin of error of 4.8 percentage points.
i’m more scared of cruz than i am of trump. it’s why i’ve been calling on dems to stop bashing trump until he gets the nomination.
Kasich, Cruz, and Trump:
The Crud, The Bad, and The Ugly
That is one creepy dude with an even creepier smile, if you can call it that. Blech.