Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has expanded his lead over celebrity hotelier Donald Trump from one percentage point to five in Wisconsin, according to an Emerson College Polling Society survey released Monday.
The poll shows support for Cruz at 40 percent, while Donald Trump stood at 35 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) languished at 21 percent. This indicates a shift towards Cruz since the previous Emerson poll was conducted in mid-March. That poll showed the Texas senator enjoying only a paper-thin lead, beating out Trump 36 percent to 35 percent. Kasich enjoyed a two-point boost from 19 percent in the same period.
These results come as Cruz and Kasich have consolidated virtually all the support in national polls shed by the long parade of departures from the GOP field. Although their substantial gains, and Trump’s relatively paltry ones, in recent weeks suggest that they collectively form an anti-Trump bloc, Trump still beats each of his rivals in national polling.
By contrast, nearly all recent polls of Wisconsin have shown Cruz in the lead, although by substantially varied margins.
TPM’s PollTracker Average shows Trump at 28 percent support in the state, followed by Cruz at 18 percent and Kasich at 6 percent.
Emerson College Polling Society conducted this poll from March 30-April 3, using an automated phone system. Pollsters surveyed 549 people likely to vote in the Republican primary, with a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.
