House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is predicting that Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) will continue to rise in the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
McCarthy was asked Wednesday about new polling that finds real estate mogul Donald Trump atop the GOP pack at 27 percent, followed by Rubio at 17 percent and Cruz at 16 percent.
{mosads}”Those supporters who support [Trump] will support him through and through. But I think you got to look at attributes,” McCarthy said during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day.”
“He does show strength, he’s an entrepreneur and he’s willing to change Washington,” McCarthy said of Trump. “So the voters are looking for a lot of those attributes.
“But also in that poll, what I read a lot into is the rise of Rubio and Sen. Cruz,” McCarthy continued, referencing the Quinnipiac University Poll showing both Republican senators gaining 3 points since last month.
“I think you’re going to see those two continue to rise because they’re fresh faces, they also meet a lot those attributes that Donald has, and I think this race is a long way away from anybody winning it,” McCarthy said.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who was polling alongside Trump, has dropped 7 percentage points and is now polling at 16 percent in the latest national survey, putting him neck and neck with Cruz.
Republican party leaders have become increasingly worried that Trump could emerge as their party’s nominee.