Donald Trump holds a commanding nine point lead over closest 2016 GOP primary rival Ben Carson, according to a new Pew Research poll.

CNN reports Trump now garners 25 percent of the vote to Carson's 16 and eight each for retired Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. The website adds that Texas Senator Ted Cruz checks in with six percent, while onetime party front-runner and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is struggling at just four percent.

Conducted between Sept. 22 and Sept. 27, the poll varied from others in that it asked interviewees the open-ended question of which Republican candidate they would support instead of providing them with a list of candidates to choose from. The survey was taken from among 496 Republican potential primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

While Trump's name also garnered strong name recognition, 25 percent of all respondents insisted they still aren't sure who they might vote for, with the first primary being only four months off.

The bombastic real estate mogul has been leading in many of the polls for much of the campaign season, though in recent weeks both Carson and Fiorina have made surges. Trump recently told CNBC's John Harwood if he suddenly starts to tumble in the polls he will drop out of the race altogether.

"Well, I'm not a masochist," he said. "Right now I'm leading every poll, and in most cases big. That's good. If that changed, if I was like some of these people at 1% and 2%, there's no reason to continue forward. If I fell behind badly, I would certainly get out."

Among the most hot-button issues for the party has been the issue of immigration and Trump recently boasted if elected he could deport up to 11 million immigrants in less than two years.