- The Washington Times - Monday, August 17, 2015

Businessman Donald Trump has a double-digit lead on his nearest GOP rival in the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, according to a new Fox News poll that shows retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and businesswoman Carly Fiorina picking up some support.

Mr. Trump was the choice of 25 percent of GOP primary voters in the poll, followed by Mr. Carson at 12 percent and Mr. Cruz at 10 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was at 9 percent, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were at 6 percent apiece, and Ms. Fiorina was at 5 percent.

Next came Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida at 4 percent apiece and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 3 percent apiece.

In a poll taken in late July/early August, Mr. Trump had been at 26 percent, followed by Mr. Bush at 15 percent and Mr. Walker at 9 percent.

Support for Mr. Carson picked up 5 points since then, from 7 percent, and support for Mr. Cruz increased 4 points, from 6 percent. Support for Ms. Fiorina jumped 3 points, from 2 percent.

Voters judged Ms. Fiorina, Mr. Carson, Mr. Kasich, and Mr. Rubio as having strong performances in the first GOP debate on Aug. 6 in Cleveland.

The highest percentage, 19 percent, of debate-watchers actually said Mr. Trump did the best job, but 32 percent said he did the worst job - also the highest percentage in the field.

Nineteen percent of Republican primary voters judged Mr. Carson the “most likable” in the field. He was followed by Mr. Trump at 16 percent, but 37 percent also rated Mr. Trump the “least likable,” which was the highest percentage among the field.

The survey of 1,008 registered voters was taken Aug. 11-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The margin of error for the smaller subgroup of Republican primary voters is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.

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