Cruz Leads Trump Nationally, 28 Percent to 26 Percent
ALSO: Americans Split on if Senate Should Vote on Supreme Court Pick
FEB. 17, 2016 – Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has fallen behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz among GOP primary voters, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted after the last party debate.
With 28 percent support, Cruz polls ahead of Trump’s 26 percent; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio follows with 17 percent support, Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 11 percent, Ben Carson with 10 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 4 percent.
The poll also finds a nine-point percentage drop among Republican primary voters who can see themselves supporting Donald Trump: 65 percent in January to 56 percent now.
Read more on the poll’s 2016 GOP horserace findings, including possible explanations and hypothetical matchups: http://nbcnews.to/1oKMGjO.
In the wake of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the poll also asked about the Senate’s role in voting this year on President Obama’s eventual nominee to succeed Scalia on the Court. 43 percent of Americans say the Senate should vote this year on a replacement, versus 42 percent who prefer to leave the position vacant and wait for a nomination by the new president; 15 percent have no opinion.
Read more, including a breakdown of voters’ preference by party on the Senate’s role: http://nbcnews.to/1WsjDMr.
MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS/WALL STREET JOURNAL
The remainder of the poll’s results will release tomorrow afternoon.
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For more information, contact:
Olivia Petersen
NBC News
o: (202) 885-4159
c: (804) 938-3810
e: olivia.petersen@nbcuni.com
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