Donald Trump is the runaway choice in the Republican field to be the next president of the United States, but in general election matchups he is behind three leading Democratic contenders by wide margins, a new poll has found.
According to a
Quinnipiac University poll conducted July 23-28 of 1,644 registered voters, Trump has 20 percent support, well ahead of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who comes in second place, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
The standings for the other Republican candidates rounding out the list:
- Walker has 13 percent;
- Bush has 10 percent;
- Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee each have 6 percent;
- Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are at 5 percent each;
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is at 3 percent;
- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry each have 2 percent;
- Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham have 1 percent support each.
At the same time, Trump has the highest percentage of voters saying they would definitely not support him, at 30 percent. Christie comes in next at 15 percent, and Bush is at 14 percent.
And Trump has the worst favorability rating of any Republican or Democratic candidate with a negative rate of 27 percent to 59 percent among all voters, the poll, released Thursday, found.
"They love him and they hate him. Donald Trump triumphs on the stump so far, but do voters REALLY want him? Maybe not so much," Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, said in a statement.
In general election matchups, Trump loses by double digits to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (48 percent to 36 percent) and Vice President Joe Biden (49 percent to 37 percent). Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders also beats Trump (45 percent to 37 percent).
Meanwhile, Clinton has 55 percent support among Democratic voters nationwide, while 17 percent would go for Sanders, and 13 percent for Biden.
"The good news for Secretary Hillary Clinton is that she is over 50 percent among Democrats and has a double-digit lead over Trump," Malloy said.
In a
Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday, Trump also took a commanding lead with 25 percent support, giving him a double-digit advantage over his nearest rival Jeb Bush.
And a
Florida survey out Wednesday showed that Trump would beat Bush and Rubio by a wide margin if the Republican primary were held today: Trump has 26 percent support while Bush is at 20 percent and Rubio is at 10 percent.