Poll: Cruz trails Trump by only 8 points in SC

Donald Trump continues to lead the GOP pack among South Carolina primary voters, but his lead is far slimmer in a survey released Thursday than in one from the day before.

Trump has the backing of 24 percent of Republican voters in the Palmetto State, according to a Winthrop University survey, an 8-point lead over his closet competition.

{mosads}A Fox News poll released Wednesday, however, found the front-runner 20 points ahead of the rest of the field in South Carolina.

Winthrop University’s sampling concluded before Trump’s controversial call for a ban on admitting Muslims into the U.S. earlier this week.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is Trump’s biggest rival in South Carolina, Winthrop says, earning 16 percent of likely Republican voters there.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson places third, with 14 percent, while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) ranks fourth, with 11 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) rounds out the GOP’s top five, earning 9 percent.

Every other Republican White House hopeful receives 2 percent or less among South Carolina’s likely Republican voters.

Thursday’s results found that multiple GOP contenders are viewed more favorably than Trump there, however.

Carson receives a 75 percent favorable rating, followed by Rubio at 66 percent and Cruz at 59 percent. Trump trails with 49 percent.

The results also found high voter frustration with the federal government among South Carolina’s Republican voters. About 61 percent expressed frustration with national leadership, while 35 percent said they were outright angry and only 3 percent expressed contentment.

Winthrop University conducted its latest sampling of 828 likely Republican voters via cell and landline phone calls Nov. 30–Dec. 7.  It has a 3.4 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.