Trump widens lead atop GOP presidential field

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has widened his lead over GOP challengers, according to a new poll.

{mosads}Trump garners support from 32 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents in a CNN/ORC International Poll released Thursday morning, up 8 points from a similar sampling in August.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson also saw increased support in the latest poll, gaining 10 points to 19 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dropped 4 points to 9 percent.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) remains in fourth place with 7 percent voter support, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are tied at 5 percent.

Eleven other Republican contenders grab 3 percent or less among potential voters, pollsters found.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) saw the most significant shift among candidates outside the top five, CNN reported, falling 5 points since August.

The latest CNN/ORC survey, conducted by telephone last Friday through Tuesday among a random national polling of 1,012 adults, has a 4.5 percent margin of error for Republican voters.

–Mark Hensch contributed to this report, which was updated at 7:36 a.m.