Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump has taken a narrow lead over Sen. Ted Cruz in the Republican presidential race in California, but his negatives are also quite threatening as the GOP looks toward a primary in that state on June 7,
according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.
First the results. The poll of registered Republicans is divided into first, all Republicans, then a second part of those determined by pollsters most likely to vote.
All Republicans
- Donald Trump, 37 percent
- Ted Cruz, 30 percent
- John Kasich, 12 percent
Most Likely to Vote in Primary
- Donald Trump, 36 percent
- Ted Cruz, 35 percent
- John Kasich, 14 percent
There are some ominous signs both for Trump in the short run and the Republicans in the long run leading to a general election.
A quarter of California Republican voters polled said they would refuse to vote for Trump in November if he is the party's nominee.
Almost one-third of those backing Cruz, said they would not cast a ballot for Trump. Voters who back Trump, meanwhile, are critical of Cruz, with only half holding a favorable impression of him.
As most of the original field of 17 has dropped out, Trump has extended his reach among Republicans. He now has the support of 37 percent of GOP voters surveyed, up from 24 percent when the poll was last conducted in September.
Cruz, who was in single digits in the last poll, is now at 30 percent. The third candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, was invisible last September and is now at 12 percent.
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