Donald Trump, who is leading in some national polls among Republican voters, is also doing very well in the key early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire,
according to two new NBC News-Marist polls.
In New Hampshire, Trump leads the Republican presidential field, getting support from 21 percent of potential GOP primary voters.
He’s followed by:
- Jeb Bush, 14 percent
- Scott Walker, 12 percent
- John Kasich, 7 percent.
- Chris Christie, 6 percent
- Ben Carson, 6 percent
- Marco Rubio, 5 percent
- Ted Cruz, 5 percent
In Iowa, meanwhile, Trump is narrowly behind Scott Walker, who has 19 percent. Trump comes in at 17 percent.
They’re followed by:
- Jeb Bush, 12 percent
- Ben Carson, 8 percent
- Mike Huckabee, 7 percent
- Rand Paul, 5 percent
The polls were conducted July 14-21 - so before and after Trump's controversial comments belittling John McCain's war record on July 18. And they suggest the comments didn't affect Trump in Iowa (he was at 16 percent before the comments and 18 percent after), but they did hurt him in New Hampshire (26 percent before, 14 percent after).
Despite his poll position, Trump's favorable/unfavorable rating among Iowa Republicans is just 45 percent/44 percent, and it's 39 percent/53 percent among GOP voters in New Hampshire.