Billionaire hotelier Donald Trump leads the Republican field by 16 points, according to a CNN/ORC national poll released Monday.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) have together shored up a slim plurality of voters, however, with 48 percent support between them.
The poll showed support for Trump at 47 percent, while Cruz stood at 31 percent and Kasich at 17 percent. Although Trump’s clear lead is consistent with virtually every nationwide poll fielded since last summer, this survey indicates there is anti-Trump opposition coalescing around his remaining opponents.
The previous CNN/ORC poll, taken late February, showed Trump enjoying an overwhelming lead and a plurality of votes, while four other candidates split the remaining vote. But Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and former Florida Gov. George Bush (R) have left the race since then. The winnowing of the field has clearly bolstered support for Cruz, whose support jumped from 15 percent in February to 31 percent today, and Kasich, who rocketed from 6 percent to 17 percent.
By contrast, Trump appears to have gained little from those changes in the race. Not only has his support decreased by two percentage points, down from 49 percent in February, but his opponents now collectively command a slight plurality of votes.
Nevertheless, Trump enjoys an undeniable and long-running lead. TPM’s PollTracker Average shows Trump at 45.5 percent, followed by Cruz at 23.5 percent and Kasich at 14.6 percent.
The CNN/ORC poll was carried out from Mar. 17-20 by live telephone interview. Pollsters surveyed 397 people likely to vote in the Republican primary, with a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
