Donald Trump holds a slim lead over other potential candidates in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, a new Newsmax/InsiderAdvantage poll reveals.
In the survey of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents completed on Monday night, 14.3 percent said they would vote for the billionaire real estate mogul if their state’s primary or caucus were held today.
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| Mike Huckabee |
Mike Huckabee was close behind with 14.1 percent of the vote, followed by Mitt Romney with 13.5 percent. Sarah Palin garnered a strong 12 percent of the vote, a significant increase from other recent polls.
But a large number of respondents, 23 percent, said they remain undecided about their choice for the GOP nomination.
Among other candidates in the poll, Newt Gingrich received 8 percent of the vote, followed by Michele Bachmann (6 percent), Tim Pawlenty (6 percent), and Mitch Daniels (3 percent).
This is the first Newsmax/InsiderAdvantage poll conducted without Haley Barbour, who said on Monday that he is not seeking the GOP nomination.
Interestingly, the poll also found that 38 percent of respondents believe Trump and his potential candidacy have not been treated fairly by the networks and the majority of the media; 29 percent said he has been treated fairly, and 33 percent are undecided.
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| Donald Trump |
“Several interesting things emerge from this poll, InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery told Newsmax.
“Right now, when it is this far out from the process of selecting a candidate, name ID is most important.
“Donald Trump is best known among the potential candidates. Everyone knows Trump. Plus, his message is clearly resonating with some groups. He does particularly well among respondents 45 to 64 years of age (16 percent), while younger voters, 18 to 29, favor Huckabee (18 percent.
“Also, Trump does very well with women. He gets 17 percent of the female vote, the highest of any candidate, while still holding fairly strong among males with 12 percent.”
Huckabee and Romney, former GOP presidential candidates, and 2008 vice presidential candidate Palin also fare well because of their considerable name ID, Towery said.
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| Sarah Palin |
“Palin does very well in the 30 to 44 age group (20 percent). That is a group that votes, and the group that polls show are most unhappy about the current political and economic situation.
“Palin also polls slightly more strongly with men than with women.”
Gingrich, meanwhile, is not all that familiar to younger voters who don’t remember him as House Speaker, just as a Fox News commentator, Towery asserts, but if he acquaints himself with those younger voters he could prove to be a very strong candidate as well.
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