Story highlights
Donald Trump polls four times higher than Jeb Bush, a new Quinnipiac poll says
Bush is at his lowest rating since November 2013
Vice President Joe Biden fares better against top GOP candidates in hypothetical general election match-ups than Hillary Clinton, according to a new national survey.
The Quinnipiac University poll, released Thursday, also shows Donald Trump smashing the GOP presidential competition garnering 28% support from registered Republican voters in the 17-member field. The real estate mogul’s closest competitor is retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who tallies 12%.
Just 7% said they would vote for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a record low since November 2013.
Those results show just how far both Trump – now the Republican front-runner – and Bush – the old one – have come. Bush led national polls for much of the first half of 2015, but was quickly dislodged by Trump, after he announced his presidential ambitions this June.
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Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida both are tied with Bush at 7%, the polls shows, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at 6% and former tech CEO Carly Fiorina and Ohio Gov. John Kasich tied at 5%.
“Donald Trump soars; Ben Carson rises; Jeb Bush slips and some GOP hopefuls seem to disappear,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the survey. “Trump proves you don’t have to be loved by everyone, just by enough Republicans to lead the GOP pack.”
And Trump certainly isn’t loved by everyone, the survey shows. About 1-in-4 GOP voters say they would never vote for Trump, topping the field. Bush comes in second with 18%.
Clinton still leads the Democratic race at 45% support from registered Democrats, followed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at 22% and Biden – who is currently mulling a 2016 bid – at 18%.
But Biden, currently sporting the highest favorability rating among any 2016 candidates polled of either party, tops Trump 48% to 40%, compared to Clinton, who beats Trump 45% to 41%. Biden also beats Bush, 45% to 39%, compared to Clinton, who beats Bush 42% to 40%.
Opinion: Biden is everything Hillary Clinton isn’t
"So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again," Trump told the crowd at his announcement.
"These are all of our stories," Cruz told the audience at Liberty University in Virginia. "These are who we are as Americans. And yet for so many Americans, the promise of America seems more and more distant."
"I am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support ... because I have decided to run for president of the United States," Kasich told his kickoff rally at the Ohio State University.
"Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion -- so you can do more than just get by -- you can get ahead. And stay ahead," she said in her announcement video. "Because when families are strong, America is strong. So I'm hitting the road to earn your vote, because it's your time. And I hope you'll join me on this journey."
"This great nation and its government belong to all of the people and not to a handful of billionaires, their super PACs and their lobbyists," Sanders said at a rally in Vermont on May 26.
Malloy said Biden could be encouraged by these polling results.
“If he is sitting on the fence, his scores in the match-ups and his favorability ratings may compel him to say, ‘Let’s do this,’” Malloy said.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,563 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, including 666 Republicans with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points and 647 Democrats with a margin of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
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