--- title: Donald Trump Dominates In New Polling for 2016 Republican Nomination description: The results are huge one week before first Republican debate canonical: https://time.com/3977894/donald-trump-polling-republican/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-30T10:00:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:39.334Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Dominates In New Polling for 2016 Republican Nomination og:description: The results are huge one week before first Republican debate og:url: https://time.com/3977894/donald-trump-polling-republican/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7259fa75f42f2adf/69885cc62dce0126629e4d15/donald-trump26.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Dominates In New Polling for 2016 Republican Nomination twitter:description: The results are huge one week before first Republican debate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7259fa75f42f2adf/69885cc62dce0126629e4d15/donald-trump26.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Dominates in New National Republican Poll > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=65fa385d-a70f-4ce4-84f7-0207da0f0701&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 30, 2015 10:00 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference on July 25, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference on July 25, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 30, 2015 10:00 AM UTC Donald Trump sits firmly atop the Republican primary field one week before the inaugural GOP debate, according to the Quinnipiac Poll released Thursday. The bombastic reality television star and real estate magnate has the support of 20% of Republicans, according to the poll, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker following at 13% and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush rounding out the top-3 at 10%. No other Republican candidate polls higher than 6%, with nine of the 12 remaining candidates polling within a statistical tie according to the survey. The poll is likely to be one of the five surveys that will factor in determining eligibility for the GOP debate, with the Fox News using an as-yet-unknown method for averaging the results. The network has said it may allow more than 10 candidates on stage in the event of a tie. The close results highlight the challenges inherent to using polling to attempt to winnow the massive Republican primary field. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Rand Paul, and Sen. Marco Rubio each polled at 6%, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 5%. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie polled at 3%, rounding out the top 10, with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry earning 2% each. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, and former New York Gov. George Pataki each pulled in 1%. Among Republicans, 30% said they would under no circumstances vote for Trump—the highest of any candidate—with 15% saying they would never back Christie and 14% saying the same of Bush. Trump is viewed favorably by 50% of GOPers, with 33% viewing him unfavorably—among the lower net figures in the GOP field. Christie, though, is even worse, with 40% holding positive views and 37% negative. ### See Donald Trump Hanging Out With Unlikely Celebrities  Donald Trump, owner of New York's Trump Tower, holds the bridle of a polo pony while talking to Andy Warhol on Nov. 4, 1983. Mario Suriani—AP  Donald Trump, Don King and Barbara Walters on Dec. 12, 1987. Ron Galella—Getty Images  Professional Wrestler Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant With Donald Trump. Russell Turiak—Getty Images  Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, his wife, actress Robin Givens and Donald Trump, leave the New York State Supreme Court building on July 22, 1988. Charles Wenzelberg—AP  Developer Donald Trump is flanked by super middleweight champion Thomas Hearns, left, of Detroit, and Michael Olajide of Canada at a news conference in New York on Feb. 15, 1990. Timothy Clary—AP  Alec Baldwin is joined by Donald Trump and Melania Knauss at benefit for the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on October 8, 1999. Richard Corkery—NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Katie Couric, left, co-host of NBC-TV's "Today" show, is dressed like Donald Trump, right, during a spoof of his "The Apprentice" reality television show, on the morning program's annual Halloween segment on Oct. 29, 2004. Richard Drew—AP  Donald Trump and Larry King arrive at the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in New York on March 9, 2011. Charles Sykes—AP  Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, left, and Donald Trump appear onstage at the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in New York on March 9, 2011. Charles Sykes—AP  Snoop Dogg and Donald Trump arrive at the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in New York on March 9, 2011. Charles Sykes—AP  Martha Stewart and Donald Trump at Richard "Skip" Bronson's, "The War at the Shore" Book Publication Party held at Loews Regency Hotel in New York City on June 11, 2012. Sylvain Gaboury—Sipa USA  Tiger Woods stands with Donald Trump as he holds the Gene Serazen Cup for winning the Cadillac Championship golf tournament on March 10, 2013, in Doral, Fla. Wilfredo Lee—AP  Donald Trump and recording artist and host Nick Jonas joke around onstage during the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller—Getty Images Rubio and Walker remain the most beloved in the GOP, with more than three-fifths holding favorable opinions of the candidates and just single digits viewing them unfavorably. Bush saw a significant jump to his approval ratings, from the last Quinnipiac survey in May, rising from just 28% viewing him favorably to 43%, with the percentage viewing him unfavorably declining from 44% to 41% over the same period. Americans of all stripes believe Trump possesses strong leadership qualities, with 58% of Americans and 61% of independent voters agreeing with that statement. Yet on two other key metrics of candidate performance, trust and caring about voters, Trump is underwater by roughly 2-1 margins. The poll of 710 Republicans was conducted from July 23-28 and has a margin of error of ± 3.7 percentage points. 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