Donald Trump is now hitting a record-high 40 percent support in his ongoing quest to secure the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll now finds Trump's numbers on the rise, though he remains locked in a tight race with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

With the GOP field now winnowed down to just three candidates, Trump leads Cruz by five points at 40 percent to 35 percent, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich bringing up at the rear at 24 percent.

Just last month, the same poll found Trump leading Cruz 30 percent to 27 percent, and back in February, when Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Ben Carson were all still in the race, Cruz topped Trump by a count of 28 percent to 26 percent.

Trump Popular With Men, Those Without College Degree

A deeper analysis of the numbers shows the bombastic New York City real estate mogul easily besting Cruz among voters without a college education at 45 percent to 38 percent. Trump also leads Cruz among male voters 42 percent to 35 percent.

Meanwhile, Cruz holds a commanding lead among voters who identify as "very conservative" at 52 percent to 40 percent. On the flip side, Kasich leads the trio among voters described as "moderate" or "liberal" with 44 percent, compared to 33 percent for Trump and 23 percent for Cruz.

GOP primary voters view both Cruz and Kasich as more broadly acceptable than Trump, with 63 percent of voters responding they could see themselves voting for Cruz and 61 percent saying the same of Kasich.

When it comes to Trump, the party's overall front-runner, 61 percent of voters respond they could ultimately see themselves supporting his candidacy.

Given the possibility that none of the three candidates will amass the 1,237 delegates needed to bag the GOP nomination outright, a majority of GOP voters insist Trump should still emerge as the official face of the party if he manages to collect the most votes during primary season.

Voters Believe Trump Should be Nominee if He Gets Most Votes

The poll found a little more than six in ten voters, or 62 percent insist that the winner of the Republican nomination should be the candidate who received the most votes, while 33 percent say the nominee should be the candidate whom the delegates at the upcoming convention believe gives the party the best chance of securing the White House.

A recent Field Poll shows Trump holding a solid lead in the upcoming California primary. Polls show Trump leading Cruz 39 percent to 32 percent with Kasich stuck at 18 percent.

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