Presidential races

Trump leads Cruz by 2-1 margin in national poll

Donald Trump has more than double the support of his nearest Republican presidential rival, Ted Cruz, in the latest national CNN/ORC poll.  

Trump is supported by 41 percent of Republicans, a new high in the poll, released Tuesday morning, compared to Cruz’s 19 percent. All other candidates are in the single digits, with Marco Rubio at 8 percent. 
 
{mosads}The race is tighter in polls in the first two voting states, which can generally be a better predictor of votes. Trump and Cruz are neck and neck in Iowa, which casts ballots on Monday.
 
Trump’s lead in New Hampshire, where voting is scheduled on Feb. 9, is more comparable to his support in the latest national poll, where he holds a roughly 20-point lead in a RealClearPolitics average of polls.
 
Among Tea Party supporters surveyed in the new poll, 37 percent back Trump and 34 percent back Cruz. Trump also leads among those holding college degrees, 26 to 20 percent, over Cruz.
 
The survey of 405 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents was conducted Jan. 21–24 via telephone with a margin of error of 5 points.