Real estate mogul and newly declared GOP candidate Donald Trump has been basking in the warm glow of increasingly positive poll positions amid firebrand rhetoric on immigration since his announcement.
And now a new Suffolk University poll confirms what some GOP insiders have privately feared: the Republican base is rallying around him in ways that put particular pressure on the rest of the field.
According to the national poll of likely Republican primary voters, Trump is pulling 17 points to Jeb Bush’s 14, separated by the margin of error, with Scott Walker dropping to 8 percent.
Much to the chagrin of RNC officials who previously offered a mild rebuke to Trump’s uncouth references to illegal immigrants, ‘conservative’ and ‘very conservative’ voters are responding perhaps to the single most unifying issue of the primary base.
With the recent headlines concerning failed sanctuary city policies, national news has been rolling out propelling the Trump candidacy to new heights.
But the new poll isn’t all roses for Team Trump. His sizeable lead among the crowded field is counterbalanced by a 61% negative rating, a veritable ‘love him or hate him’ reputation ahead of the Fox News debate just three weeks away.
