Now Donald Trump is making Democrats sweat, too.
With the New York real estate mogul continuing to significantly outpoll his GOP opponents, the Democratic National Committee has put him on the list of "top tier" GOP candidates,
The Guardian reports.
The British news organization says the DNC has assigned a full-time staff member to keep a close eye on Trump's campaign, respond to his statements, and try to slow his rise.
By being designated for full-time monitoring, Trump joins front-runners such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
The remaining candidates, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, and former Pennsylvania Gov. Rick Santorum are ranked lower in the polls and are not part of the list the DNC is watching closely.
The DNC has viewed Trump for some time, saying in June, when he announced his candidacy, that he adds "some much-needed seriousness that has previously been lacking from the GOP field." However, The Guardian reports, the fact that the DNC is monitoring him more closely reflects the threat he poses to its candidates, including frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Republicans are responding to Trump's tough-talk, despite remarks that have brought some controversy, such as his criticism of Arizona Sen. John McCain, but polls show the controversies are fueling, rather than taking away from Trump's poll numbers.
In many of the
polls, Trump has a double digit lead over all GOP opponents, including Bush, who had been widely considered a shoe-in for the race.
The polls will also put Trump on the stage in Fox News' first Republican debate on Thursday, making him a threat just like his other more politically experienced rivals.
Meanwhile, the candidates who are not in the top-10 cut in the polls will be on a smaller debate stage earlier in the day.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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