Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:09 pm
Two national polls released on Tuesday and a New Hampshire poll released on Monday, show Donald Trump is crushing the rest of the Republican presidential field in the race for the GOP nomination. A Bloomberg Politics national poll found Trump way ahead with 21 percent support to just 10 percent for his nearest competitor, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. A CBS national poll released on Tuesday also showed Trump with a huge lead. In that poll, Trump garnered 24 percent support. Jeb Bush was in second place with 13 percent support.
The two national polls came a day after a WMUR poll found that Donald Trump has also taken a commanding lead in New Hampshire, the nation’s first primary state. Trump led the New Hampshire poll with 24 percent. He was followed by Jeb Bush at 12 percent, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at 11 percent support.
The New Hampshire poll also found that Trump has been growing more and more popular with Republican voters in the Granite State over time. In February, just 19 percent of likely Republican voters in the state had a favorable opinion of Trump, compared to 69 percent who viewed him unfavorably. The latest poll shows Trump’s popularity has improved dramatically with GOP voters. While 40 percent still have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, 51 percent view him favorably.
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While a substantial number of Republican voters appear uneasy about a Trump candidacy, there can be no denying that he has become the undisputed leader in the Republican race. His nearest contenders, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have fallen way behind. The other 14 Republican candidates are even further back.
As the GOP candidates take to the stage on Thursday, all eyes will be on Donald Trump. Jeb Bush and Scott Walker may try to engage him, or perhaps they will hope that Trump simply makes an unforced error that they can capitalize upon. The problem for Trump’s antagonists is that so far, every outlandish thing Trump has said has boosted, rather than damaged his standing with GOP voters.
Trump’s Republican opponents continue to hope that the bombastic billionaire is peaking too soon and that his poll numbers will eventually fall. While there are some historical precedents suggesting that Trump could come crashing back down to earth, there is no reason to think such a crash is inevitable. In order for Trump to fade, Republican voters will have to grow tired of his constant demagoguery. Jeb Bush is counting on that.
However, given the mood and temperament of today’s Republican voters, expecting them to cast aside anger and outrage for comparative sanity is probably unrealistic. Trump is running away from the field, because he is saying what Republican voters want to hear. The other GOP candidates who ignore that truth, will do so at their own peril.
Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.
