Politics

Donald Trump Holds Lead In New WSJ, NBC News Poll

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Rachel Stoltzfoos Staff Reporter
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to lead the GOP pack in a new poll, just a week ahead of the first primary debate.

Approximately 1 in 5 Republican primary voters picked Trump as their first choice for president in Sunday’s Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker followed with 15 percent and then former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 14 percent.

Support for Trump as a second choice jumped from 3 percent in the last WSJ/NBC poll to 11 percent.

The voters were surveyed last week, following his remark that fellow Republican John McCain is “not a war hero,” because he was captured. Though he did soften his comments in follow up interviews, Trump still refused to apologize, saying McCain has “failed,” and he will do a better job supporting veterans.

Republican primary voter support for Trump has hovered around 20 percent in the last eight national polls, surging a few weeks after his announcement in June, cementing his place in the first primary debate Thursday.

Fox News is allowing only 10 of the 17 declared candidates a spot in the debate, based on their rank in the five most recent national polls released by Tuesday. Trump, Walker and Bush will be on the stage.

Right now Sen. Rand Paul, Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Chris Christie and Gov. John Kasich will also make the cut, NBC News estimates. That leaves out former Gov. Rick Perry, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, former Gov. George Pataki, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and former Gov. Jim Gilmore.

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