A new poll shows former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush sitting atop the 2016 GOP presidential field, with businessman and reality television show host Donald Trump jumping to second place in the wake of his recent campaign kick-off.
Mr. Bush was the choice of 15 percent of likely Republican primary voters in the Fox News poll, followed by Mr. Trump at 11 percent and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 10 percent.
Mr. Bush had been at 12 percent in a Fox poll released in early June, and Mr. Trump had been at 4 percent. The survey was taken June 21-23 — soon after both men officially announced their candidacies.
Still, nearly two-thirds of GOP primary voters said they think of Mr. Trump, the host of NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” as a side show, compared to 29 percent who said they consider him a serious candidate. Among all registered voters, 77 percent said they think he’s a side show and 18 percent said they think he’s a serious candidate.
He took to social media Wednesday evening to tout the results, tweeting: “Just out, the new nationwide @FoxNews poll has me alone in 2nd place, closely behind Jeb Bush-but Bush will NEVER Make America Great Again!”
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were at 9 percent apiece, with Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida at 8 percent and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 6 percent.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was at 4 percent and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania were at 3 percent apiece.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry were at 2 percent apiece. Mr. Jindal announced his candidacy Wednesday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and former New York Gov. George Pataki were at 1 percent apiece.
Of the names included, Mr. Walker, Mr. Christie, and Mr. Kasich have yet to officially announce 2016 bids.
Mr. Bush was also the top second choice, at 11 percent, followed by Mr. Rubio and Mr. Huckabee at 10 percent apiece.
The survey of 1,005 registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points for the subgroup of Republican primary voters.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.