The results of a new Viewpoint Florida (read the Executive Summary ) survey of 2,047 likely Republican voters in the state shows Donald Trump with a commanding lead in the Sunshine State. Also Trump has a huge lead in a newly released Bay News 9/News 13 Florida Decides Poll, conducted via telephone from Wednesday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 1.
The businessman who has a home and owns two golf courses in the state and spends great deal of time in Florida and will be a factor in the state primary come March 15, 2016.
Trump has 27 percent of those polled saying they support him as the GOP Presidential nominee while only 16 percent favor Florida’s own Sen. Marco Rubio who is a distant second. But the most interesting news is that Dr. Ben Carson is in third place with 15 percent of the vote, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and the popular former governor of the state Jeb Bush tied with 12 percent.
This Florida survey, the 10th in a row finding Trump on top, resembles other recent Florida polls that also show Bush in third or fourth place. Reflecting many national surveys, most of the recent Florida polls show that, as Bush has slipped, Carson and Rubio have risen. Now Cruz, on the heels of a strong debate performance Wednesday, might be showing more traction in Florida as well.
“@NickEgoroff: BREAKING: Latest poll of Florida voters shows enormous lead for Trump! He’d beat Hillary! https://t.co/TvLEH4NcXt #tcot“
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2015
Nationally, Ben Carson and Donald Trump are now in a statistical tie for the GOP nomination among Republicans, according to a Ipsos/Reauters online poll. But among overall voters, Trump came out ahead of Carson by several points.
At this point just three months away from the Iowa caucus together GOP outsiders Trump and Carson now have a combined 50 plus percent of the backing of Republican voters. However, there is a little over a year before the nation takes to the polls to elect a new president on Nov. 8th 2016, so there is a very long way to go.