Former reality-television host Donald Trump leads the Republican field by nine points, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) easily beats out Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for second place, according to a nationwide ABC/Washington Post poll released Tuesday.
The poll showed support for Trump at 34 percent, followed by Cruz at 25 percent and Rubio at 18 percent. Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) came in last at 13 percent.
This suggests that Trump’s lead has narrowed since the same poll was last taken in late January, when Trump lead at 37 percent to Cruz’ 21 percent and Rubio’s 11 percent.
Most other polling does not reflect such a tighter race, however. TPM’s PollTracker Average shows Trump leading at 40.3 percent, followed by Cruz at 18.3 percent, Rubio at 18.1 percent and Kasich at 7.7 percent.
The ABC/Washington Post poll surveyed 400 registered voters likely to vote in the Republican primary using live telephone interviews. The poll was conducted from March 3-6 with a margin of error of 5.5 percentage points.
