2016 Presidential Polls: Donald Trump Expands GOP Lead, Bernie Sanders Surges Among Democrats
Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump's respective wins in New Hampshire appear are propelling each of them to new heights within their parties, a new poll shows.
A Morning Consult national poll released Feb. 12 shows Trump winning 44 percent of the vote among self-identified Republicans and independents who lean conservative, the highest level of support he has previously achieved in any survey conducted by the outlet.
Iowa caucus winner and Texas senator, Ted Cruz, now lags 27 points behind Trump, at just 17 percent, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Both stand at 10 percent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush polls at 8 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich checks in at 4 percent.
Trump Scoring Well With Independents
A wide swath of Trump's support comes from those who identify as independents (47 percent), those who consider themselves something other than conservatives (47 percent) and those without a college degree (49 percent).
In addition, nearly half of GOP voters who point to national security as their top priority will vote for Trump. Overall, 67 percent of Republican voters say they have a favorable view of Trump, while 62 percent view Rubio in the same way and 61 percent do Cruz.
Sanders Riding New Hampshire Momentum
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still posts first at 46 percent, but her lead over Sanders has now dipped to just seven points.
The liberal Vermont senator holds a staggering 19 point lead (55 to 36 percent) over Clinton among voters between the ages of 18 and 29, while the former First Lady polls best among voters over 65 years old.
In terms of favorability, 78 percent of Democrats approve of Sanders, compared to 75 percent for Clinton. In addition, Sanders is the only candidate in the field from either party who is seen favorably by a majority of overall voters.
While both Trump (up six points) and Sanders (up two points) saw significant gains on the heels of their victories in New Hampshire, the Vermont senator continues to lag behind among non-white voters.
In South Carolina, where more than half of the electorate is African-American, and Nevada, where the Latino population is nearly just as huge, he trails Clinton 63 to 26 percent among blacks and 52 to 44 percent among Latinos.
The Morning Consult survey polled 1,600 registered voters over a two-day period beginning Feb. 10, for a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Polls open in South Carolina for the Republican primary on the morning of Feb. 20 and a new Opinion Savvy poll conducted for The State has Trump leading Cruz 36 to 20 percent. Currently, Rubio places third at 15 percent, followed by Bush at 11 percent.
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