Trump, Clinton Lead in Latest National Presidential Poll But Sanders, Kasich Run Best in General Election Match-Up
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the clear front-runners for their respective parties based on the results of a new Quinnipiac University nationwide poll.
Among Republicans, the poll shows Trump leads Texas Sen. Ted Cruz 43 to 29 percent, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich languishing in third place at 16 percent.
On the Democratic side, Clinton leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 50 to 38 percent.
Sanders, Kasich Run Strong in Hypothetical General Election Match-ups
When it comes to hypothetical general election match-ups, Sanders and Kasich prove best among all voters, topping all other candidates by comfortable margins and running in a dead heat with one another.
Overall, Clinton tops Trump 46 percent to 40 percent and Cruz 45 percent to 42 percent, but trails Kasich 47 percent to 39 percent. Meanwhile, Sanders bests Trump 52 percent to 38 percent and Cruz 50 percent to 39 percent. He trails Kasich by just one point at 45 percent to 44 percent.
The poll also finds an alarming 54 percent of voters say they "would definitely not vote" for Trump, compared to 43 percent of Americans who have that same sentiment when it comes to Clinton.
"Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton may have the overall leads among primary voters, but there is not a lot of love in the room as a big percentage of Americans say of the front-runner they could take 'em or leave 'em," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the poll.
By comparison, Cruz tops the "no way" lists of 33 percent of voters, while Sanders and Kasich are at 27 and 14 percent, respectively.
Researchers also asked respondents, in an open-ended question, how they feel about the idea of a Trump presidency, to which 117 voters responded "scared." Another 46 voters answered "disaster," while 45 each used "frightened" and "terrified" to describe their feelings.
The most common positive word used to describe this possibility was "good," which lands seventh on the list overall at just 36 respondents.
As for Clinton, the word "disaster" was used by 68 voters, with another 49 describing themselves as "scared" and 43 responding "disappointed."
On the flip side, 51 voters feel "good" about the prospect of a Clinton administration, and another 41 describe their feelings as "hopeful"
Trump, Clinton, Cruz All With Negative Favorability Rating
Overall, Trump (33 to 61), Clinton (39 to 56) and Cruz (32 to 47) all have a negative favorability ratings among voters.
Part of Trump's problem could stem from voters' perceptions that he is largely responsible for much of the violence that has plagued his campaign. More than 1 in 3 voters, or 37 percent, feel he is "very responsible" for all the trouble, while another 37 percent feel he is at least "somewhat responsible." At the same time, 39 percent of voters describe the protesters involved as "very responsible," and another 39 percent say they are "somewhat responsible."
Following his Arizona primary victory on March 22, Trump has now bagged 739 of the 1,237 delegates he needs to officially seal the GOP nomination.
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