Poll: Trump opens 30-point lead nationally over GOP field

Donald Trump has a 30-point lead nationally over the rest of the GOP field, according to a new Reuters-Ipsos tracking poll released Friday. 

The Republican front-runner takes 41 percent of the vote with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), his closest competitor at 11 percent.

Following Cruz, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has 10 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is at 9 percent. 

{mosads}Trump is leading the polls nationally. But in the early voting state of Iowa, some polls have shown Cruz within striking distance with the caucuses less than 10 days away.

According to a Monmouth University poll released Wednesday, Trump holds a more than 2-to-1 advantage nationally. He takes 36 percent of the votes in that poll, with Cruz in second place with 17 percent support.

In the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, Trump has 34.8 percent of the vote, compared to Cruz who has 18.8 percent.