Billionaire real-estate magnate Donald Trump has expanded his lead over his Republican presidential rivals to 17 points in South Carolina, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling. It’s the first poll fielded in the state since Saturday’s GOP debate.
The poll showed support for Trump at 35 percent, while Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) tied for second at 18 percent. Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) followed in third place at 10 percent.
The poll reflects the substantial changes in the Republican field since the previous PPP poll of the state in November, which showed Trump at 25 percent, former neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 21 percent, Cruz at 15 percent and Rubio at 13 percent.
The latest poll suggests that South Carolina voters largely agree with the assessment of Republican voters nationwide, who have consistently given Trump a clear first-place lead while Cruz and Rubio have dueled for second place and enjoyed a comfortable lead over the remaining candidates.
TPM’s PollTracker Average shows Trump in the lead in South Carolina at 42.1 percent, followed by Cruz at 19.5 percent, Rubio at 15.2 percent and Kasich at 8.3 percent.
The PPP poll surveyed 897 likely Republican voters from Feb. 14-15, with a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
sorry… my dog actually did die yesterday…
if Donnie Dipstick actually won and got his way, sort of fantasizing now in a darkly depressed way, would he try to appoint Caribou Barbie to the Supreme Court? and would she quit halfway thru her life?
I knew he wouldn’t tank after Saturday, but I thought he would at least drop a bit. Also, Jeb went down after his best debate by far!
If you didn’t watch the debate, I would recommend it. It was like an SNL skit except horrifying instead of funny. Donald Trump came off as a petulant child, interrupting, talking over people, calling people liars when challenged.
His support really just shows how stupid a large minority of Americans are.
There are, in essence, two wings of the modern GOP; the country club elite wing where money rules, and the religious-social conservative, “Deliverance” wing, who are manipulated by the country -club wing to do their bidding.
What is so great (dare I say YUGE?), is that Trump has short-circuited this process. He goes straight to the “Deliverance” wing and empowers them. The country club wing is apoplectic.
That he can say what he does, do what he does, act as he does and NOT lose in the polls, well that’s removing whatever thin fabric covered the racist, xenophobic, hate-filled iteration of the modern GOP.
Of course the headline could also read 65% of those activists polled, who are expected to vote in the primary, oppose Trump
SC shows what folks have been saying for a while. Clinton and Bernie split the white vote, but minorities so far are sticking with Clinton. The Democratic Party is 40% white and 60% minority. There’s no way to spin who we are.