Poll: Trump up 14 points in NH; Rubio in second

Donald Trump holds a commanding 14-point lead over the rest of the GOP field in New Hampshire, a new poll finds.

The survey from Public Policy Polling released Wednesday finds the real estate mogul with 29 percent support in the first-in-the-nation primary state. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is in second place, with 15 percent.

Rubio is followed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, each with 11 percent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) both have 10 percent. The rest of the GOP candidates lag behind in the single digits.

It’s the latest poll to show Trump on steady ground in New Hampshire. A December poll found Trump at 27 percent support.

{mosads}“If the Republican establishment really wants to stop Donald Trump in New Hampshire it might require some more people dropping out of the race,” Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, said in a release. “4 different establishment candidates all polling in double digits is what’s allowing Trump to have such a big lead in the state.”

Trump, the GOP front-runner nationally, has lower favorability ratings than many of his Republican rivals. Forty-nine percent of GOP voters view him favorably — eighth place in the field — and 44 percent view him negatively.

But Trump has loyalty among his supporters. Among the leading candidates, Trump has the highest percentage of supporters, 68 percent, who say they are firmly committed to him.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly edges out Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 47 to 44 percent, a lead within the poll’s margin of error. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley lags far behind, with 3 percent.

Sanders has a higher favorability rating — 85 percent positive and 8 percent negative — than Clinton’s 69-24 split. While Clinton outpaces Sanders 55 percent to 36 percent among Democrats, he polls higher among non-Democrats who plan to vote in the primary, 59 percent to 29 percent.

“Clinton is dominant with the Democratic establishment, but Sanders is proving to be more appealing to people outside the party,” Debnam said. It may come down to how many of those non-Democrats he can get to come out and choose to vote in the Democratic race rather than the Republican one that’s drawn a lot more interest.”

The poll was conducted Jan. 4–6 and surveyed 515 likely GOP primary voters via phone and Internet. The margin of error was 4.3 percentage points. The poll also surveyed 480 likely Democratic primary voters, and the margin of error was 4.5 points.