Anyone who thinks that Donald Trump’s run for the GOP presidential nomination is a joke might well find out that the joke is on them. His strong position on immigration does not seem to be hurting the real-estate developer’s standing in the Republican presidential primary.
Trump has made an impressive surge in two new polls just released as he now sits atop the GOP field among registered Republican voters.
The latest poll arrived Thursday. In the Economist/YouGov poll, Trump holds 15% of the Republican vote nationally — ahead of former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida (11%). But the good news for the real eastate mogul does not end there.
In a statement released by The Economist and YouGov they were made things very clear who was on top of their poll.
“Trump looks even better as a candidate this week when Republicans are asked for their second choice,” YouGov’s Kathy Frankovic wrote along with the results. “When they are, Trump extends his lead. One in four Republicans who are registered to vote say he is their first or second choice.”
Now for the other big news and that comes from a new Public Policy Polling survey of North Carolina published Wednesday also placed Trump ahead of the GOP pack. In that poll, Trump led Bush 16% to 12%.
Once again a statement from the Public Policy Polling group showed that things were going well for the New York billionaire.
“Trump’s favorability rating in North Carolina is 55/32, much higher than we were finding in national polls prior to his entry into the race,” PPP director Tom Jensen said. “Trump’s really caught fire with voters on the far right — 66% of ‘very conservative’ voters see him favorably to only 24% with a negative view of him.”
Despite the fact that Trump has been at the center of a media firestorm since he kicked off his campaign last month he remains a crowd favorite. Even though much of the attention is focused on Trump’s statements against illegal immigration. The real-estate magnate has accused the Mexican government of sending “rapists” and others criminals to the U.S. Many of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have condemned his remarks.
He are struck a nerve with the voters that seems to make his statements resonate with them at least for now. Name recognition does not hurt Trump who is known for the NBC series “The Apprentice,” as well as his many real estate properties and high profile golf courses.
For the moment Trump is a factor in the race whether the GOP leadership likes it or not. At least for now the voters of the U.S. are not ready to fire Trump.
