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Trump Towers Over Republican Rivals in New Poll

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A new poll finds business mogul Donald Trump leading the crowded field of contenders for the Republican presidential nomination for the first time, but falling short when matched up against Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

The USA Today/Suffolk University placed Trump first among Republicans with 17% of those surveyed saying he’s their top pick for the nomination. The only other GOPer to crack double digits is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who garnered support from 14% of those polled.

But when the property magnate is matched up against Clinton, he trails the former Secretary of State by 17 points.

Trump’s name recognition and visibility likely contributes to the boost in numbers; just 2% of the 1,000 American adults surveyed said they hadn’t heard of him. But his divisive comments on immigration have likely added to his high unfavorability levels. Sixty-one percent of those polled had an unfavorable view of Trump, while about 42% said they had an unfavorable view of Bush.

The survey was conducted via phone last week and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The survey results focused on the Republican primary, however, have a margin of error of plus or minus 5.25 percentage points.

[USA Today]

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