A poll released Monday showed that former realty star Donald Trump remained atop the Republican heap in Iowa following the first GOP debate and his suggestion that its lone female moderator’s menstrual cycle contributed to her tough questioning of him.
The poll from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found Trump leading the pack with 19 percent among Republican primary voters in the state.
The poll was conducted from Friday through Sunday and included the days that Trump was coming under fire for saying that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who helped moderate last week’s debate, had “blood coming out of her wherever” while questioning him.
Trump’s favorability also increased slightly in the four months since the last PPP poll of Iowa. The latest poll showed him at 46 percent favorable to 40 percent unfavorable. In April, he had an even 40-40 split.
Rounding out the candidates who poll in double digits were former neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (12 percent), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (11 percent) and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina (10 percent).
In April, Walker polled at 23 percent.
Fiorina, fresh off a strong performance in last week’s debate for lower-tier GOP candidates, increased her favorability from 30 percent in April to 56 percent.
The poll was conducted among 619 Republican primary voters from August 7 to 9. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.9 percent. The poll was conducted via landline, except for the 20 percent who didn’t have a landline and completed the poll online.
