Republican presidential hopeful businessman Donald Trump speaks to the press in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He is leading all national polls of Republican presidential contenders. (Getty)
A recent poll by Reuters/Ipsos shows Donald Trump leading the race for the 2016 U.S. Republican presidential nomination. He currently has support of 25 percent of poll respondents, giving him a strong first place lead. Other polls also show him in first place, with Jeb Bush typically placing second or third. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is losing support in Democrat polls.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Trump Leads the Reuters Poll With 25 Percent Support
Trump on July 30, 2015 in Ayr, Scotland. He will be part of the Fox debate in August. (Getty)
Trump won the support of 25 percent of Republicans in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, Yahoo! News reported. Jeb Bush followed in second place, far behind with 12 percent. Trump entered the race six weeks ago and surged in polls as he gained media attention for comments that many have labeled as outrageous. One of those comments referred to John McCain as not being a war hero — a statement that was repeated over and over again in news media reports.
The Reuters poll was online and ran for five days. Trump started at 15 percent and ended up at 24.9 percent, Yahoo! News reported.
2. Trump Is Leading in Other Polls Too, With Jeb Bush Typically Second or Third
Republican presidential candidate and former Florida governor Jeb Bush speaks to workers on July 16, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Bush is placing second or third in most polls behind Trump. (Getty)
Trump is also leading in other national polls, which will likely guarantee his spot in the first Republican presidential debate on Fox News next week. A Quinnipiac University poll placed Trump at 20 percent and in first place among the other Republican contenders, CNN reported. In this poll, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker placed second at 13 percent and Bush placed third at 10 percent. Tied at 6 percent were Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Rand Paul, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Ben Carson.
The New York Post reported that a St. Pete Polls survey showed Trump leading Republicans in Florida with 26 percent of the vote. Bush, even as the former governor of Florida, fell to second place at 20 percent.
3. The Poll Rankings Will Determine Which Republicans Participate in Fox’s Debate
I look forward to the debate on Thursday night & it is certainly my intention to be very nice & highly respectful of the other candidates.
Republican presidential contenders’ rankings in national polls will determine which ones get to participate in the Fox News debate, Yahoo! News reported. Only 10 of the 17 candidates will take part in the debate, which will be held on August 6 at 9 p.m. Eastern. Moderators Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace, and Bret Baier will ask the questions. With the recent poll results, Trump and Bush are pretty much guaranteed to be in the debate.
4. Hillary Clinton Is Falling Behind in Favorability but Still Leads the Democrats in National Polls
Democratic presidential hopeful and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to guests gathered for a house party on July 26, 2015 in Carroll, Iowa. Her favorability is down but she still leads other Democratic contenders for the presidential nomination. (Getty)
Hillary Clinton is falling behind in some Democrat polls, although she still leads other potential nominees for the Democrat party. The New York Post reported that Clinton’s favorability ranking had fallen in the Quinnipiac poll. She had a 51 percent unfavorable vote versus 41 percent favorable. However, in the Quinnipiac poll against other Democrat contenders, Clinton lead with 55 percent of voters, ahead of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who only had 17 percent, CNN reported.
Most polls that match Trump against a Democrat nominee currently show him losing, CNN reported. Going against Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, Trump lost by 12 points. Sanders would beat Trump by 8 points. Meanwhile, Clinton and Biden tied when polled against Bush and Walker, according to the Quinnipiac poll.
5. If Trump Ran Independent, the Race Could Go to the Democrats
Trump tops another presidential poll – http://t.co/4VoxJ2tu7i @realDonaldTrump #Trump2016 http://t.co/1TqiXHGxrZ
The Reuters poll also showed that if Trump did not win the Republican nomination and chose instead to run as an Independent, he would likely pull away enough votes from the Republican candidate to give the presidential win to the Democrat contender, Yahoo! News reported. For example, a race between Bush, Trump, and Clinton would have Bush and Trump each getting 23 percent and Clinton winning with 37 percent. Trump has not rejected a possibility of running as an Independent in the 2016 election.
