Poll: Trump leads GOP field in North Carolina

Donald Trump is leading the Republican field in North Carolina, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The billionaire businessman has the support of 16 percent of GOP primary voters in the Tar Heel State in the latest survey from left-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP). 

The poll comes with Trump mired in controversy over his recent remarks on Hispanics and immigration from Mexico.

{mosads}Former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.) and Gov. Scott Walker (Wis.) trail him in the PPP poll with 12 percent support each. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) is third, with 11 percent.

PPP found Trump has a 55 percent favorability rating with a 32 percent rating him unfavorably.

Trump is especially popular with “very conservative voters,” PPP found, with 66 percent of them seeing him favorably versus 24 percent who hold a negative view. He also claims 29 percent support among younger voters and 20 percent support with men.

Trump sparked controversy during his presidential campaign launch last month, when he said Mexico was “sending people who have a lot of problems” over the border to the U.S.

“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he said. “And some, I assume, are good people.”

Despite that controversy, Trump has done well in early GOP polls, placing second in a survey in Iowa and another in New Hampshire — both early voting states.

Wednesday’s PPP poll also found retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) tied at 9 percent each, followed by Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) at 7 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) snagged 6 percent, while Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.) took 5 percent.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina received 4 percent, trailed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), who all tied at 1 percent support.

Gov. John Kasich (Ohio) and former Gov. George Pataki (N.Y.) finish out the field with less than 1 percent support each.

Hillary Clinton remains the top Democratic pick for North Carolina’s primary voters, PPP found.

The former secretary of State currently has 55 percent of voters’ support there.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is in second at 22 percent. Former Sen. Jim Webb (Va.) then takes 7 percent, while former Govs. Lincoln Chafee (R.I.) and Martin O’Malley (Md.) are tied at 4 percent.

PPP surveyed 529 registered primary voters from July 2-6 for its latest sampling. The poll has a 5.8-percentage-point margin of error. That total includes 288 GOP primary voters and 286 Democratic primary voters.