A new poll of federal workers shows Donald Trump with a commanding lead over the rest of the GOP presidential field among Republican and Republican-leaning government employees.
Twenty percent of right-leaning federal workers would vote for Trump if the Republican primary were held today, according to the Government Business Council poll. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio tie for second in the poll with 11 percent support.
According to Government Executive, the poll surveyed 973 federal workers at random between Aug. 7 and Aug. 10, just after the first GOP debate. Nearly 40 percent identified as independents, 28 percent identified as Republicans, and 23 percent said they were Democrats.
The poll has a margin of error of 3 percent. The most important issue for federal workers was economic policy followed by national security. Federal workforce issues and health care were also relatively important.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are considered favorites to win the GOP nod, fared poorly in the poll. Bush came in seventh with a seven percent showing while Walker came in eighth with five percent of the support.
Trump’s success in the poll — as with most others that show him leading the GOP race — comes with one major caveat. Though he enjoys the highest level of support, he also has the highest unfavorability rating among candidates, Republican or Democrat.
That’s likely a testament to his high name recognition and his controversial statements on the campaign trail.
Just over 67 percent of the polled federal workers said they have an unfavorable view of the real estate billionaire. The next least favorable were Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who both had a 65 percent unfavorable rating.
The highest favorable rating among Republicans was for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Rubio. Nearly 37 percent have a favorable view of Carson. Thirty-five percent said they like Rubio.
Carson, along with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, are the only two in the poll with a net-positive favorability rating.
Hillary Clinton had the highest favorable rating out of all candidates, though she was still net-negative on the metric. Forty-one percent of federal workers rated her positively while nearly 54 percent said they had a negative view of her.
Thirty-four percent of those polled had a favorable view of Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is mounting a strong run against Clinton. Just over 37 percent gave him an unfavorable rating.
Among Democrats, 44 percent said they’d vote for Clinton if the primary were held today. Sanders grabbed 18 percent of the tally. Two Democrats who are not in the race — Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Joe Biden — each received 11 percent of the vote.
