Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has taken the lead in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina among likely Republican caucusgoers and primary voters in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll released Thursday morning.
In Iowa, Trump’s support has grown by eight points to 32 percent.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) trailed him at 25 percent. This is a 3-point decrease in his support since the same poll taken earlier this month in which Cruz led Trump.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) maintained his third-place spot at 18 percent, which is a five-point increase for the freshman senator.
The poll was conducted among 450 likely Republican caucusgoers in Iowa from Jan. 24-26 by telephone; the margin of error was plus or minus 4.6 points.
In New Hampshire, Trump handily leads Cruz, 31 percent to 12 percent. Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich tied for third at 11 percent.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—who is banking on support in the Granite State to carry him to the nomination—dropped by five-points to sixth place. He earned 7 percent support behind former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 8 percent.
The poll was conducted among 612 likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire from Jan. 17-23 by telephone. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 points.
In South Carolina, Trump has a 16-point lead over Cruz among likely Republican primary voters including undecided voters who are leaning toward a candidate: 36 percent versus 20 percent.
Rubio, again, is in third place with 14 percent. No other candidate polled in the double digits in the Palmetto State.
The poll was conducted among 718 likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina from Jan. 17-23 by telephone. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.7 points.
