Leading up to the New Hampshire primary, a new poll shows Donald Trump continuing to dominate the Republican presidential field in the state, while four of his rivals are locked in a dead heat for second place.
According to a new Monmouth University survey released Sunday, Trump holds a considerable double-digit lead over his opponents, with 30 percent of likely Republican primary voters saying they would vote for the billionaire businessman.
Four candidates trail Trump in a virtual tie for second place: Ohio Gov. John Kasich garnered 14 percent support, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio earned 13 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush also drew 13 percent, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had 12 percent support. Most candidates remained unchanged in their numbers from last month’s Monmouth survey, except for Bush, who jumped nine points since January.
Trump campaign: We will win New Hampshire
No other candidates received support in the double digits. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie polled at six percent, Carly Fiorina at 5 percent and Ben Carson at 4 percent.
With just days before the state’s primary on Tuesday, just under half of likely Republican voters — 49 percent — said they were completely committed to their candidate. Thirty-one percent said they had a “strong preference” but were open to changing their minds. Twelve percent had just a slight preference and nine percent said they were undecided.
Much of the polling was conducted before the final GOP debate before the New Hampshire primary, from Feb. 4-6, among 508 likely Republican primary voters. The margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.
For likely Democratic primary voters, the Monmouth survey found Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders held just a 10-point advantage over rival Hillary Clinton, 52-42 percent — a slightly closer race than the 53-39 percent results from last month’s poll.
Sixty percent of likely voters said they were completely devoted to their candidate choice. Twenty-three percent stated a strong preference but still considered themselves open to a change of heart. Only seven percent had a “slight preference.” Ten percent remain undecided.
Monmouth polled 502 likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters. The margin of error among Democrats was 4.4 percentage points.
