--- title: Donald Trump Leads Latest CNN Poll by Large Margin description: It's his biggest lead ever, according to CNN canonical: https://time.com/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/ author: Victor Luckerson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-04T15:32:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:52.560Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Leads Latest Poll by Large Margin og:description: It's his biggest lead ever, according to CNN og:url: https://time.com/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee32dcdd6971f1c6/698873d13c16394ea645b03c/gettyimages-499787622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Leads Latest Poll by Large Margin twitter:description: It's his biggest lead ever, according to CNN twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee32dcdd6971f1c6/698873d13c16394ea645b03c/gettyimages-499787622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Leads Latest Poll by Large Margin > 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=fec83d91-ab87-4aca-b077-ae135515d272&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7MzTpVq2.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2015-07-23. Donald Trump's Most Ridiculous Quotes_ by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Dec 4, 2015 3:32 PM UTC  Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during the 2016 Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum in Washington on Dec. 3, 2015. Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during the 2016 Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum in Washington on Dec. 3, 2015. SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Dec 4, 2015 3:32 PM UTC Donald Trump has his[ largest lead of the GOP presidential race](http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/04/politics/donald-trump-poll-cnn-orc-national/), according to a new CNN/ORC poll. The celebrity businessman is now favored by 36% of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Trailing him are Ted Cruz, with 16%, Ben Carson with 14% and Marco Rubio with 12% of GOP support. Trump also has massive leads when it comes to how much voters trust candidates to handle specific issues. Fifty-five percent of voters trust him most to handle the economy. He’s also preferred to handle the federal budget (51%), illegal immigration (48%), ISIS (46%) and foreign policy (30%). Trump’s rise came at the expense of Carson, Jeb Bush and Rand Paul, who all lost significant ground since CNN and ORC’s October poll. Bush is now polling at 3% and Paul at 1%. Among voters without a college degree, Trump’s lead is especially strong, with a 46% share. Cruz leads among college-educated voters with a 22% share, followed by Carson, Rubio and then Trump. According to CNN, Trump’s 20-point lead is the largest he’s had in any national live-interviewer telephone poll since he announced he was running for president. \[[_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/04/politics/donald-trump-poll-cnn-orc-national/)\] ## Transcript Rosie O'Donnell's disgusting, I mean both inside and out. You take a look at her, she's a slob. She talks like a truck driver. So he could have been born in Kenya and gone over to the United States. And everybody wants to be a US citizen. And his grandparents put an ad in saying he was born in the United States. He didn't kill Bin Laden. He gets so much credit for that. Ok excuse me. He had the guts to make that decision. And the genius. Excuse me. Guts. First of all Vince, your grapefruits are no match for my Trump Towers. They're bringing drugs They're bringing crime, they're rapist, and some I assume are good people, and I love the Mexican people. I've had thousands of Mexicans working for me. I sell apartments for millions of dollars to people from Mexico. They love me, they love me. [ CROSSTALK ]. He's a war hero cuz he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay? I hate to tell you this. And I see your Senator. What a stiff? What a Stiff? Lindsay Graham. I'm not using the lobbyists, I'm not using donors. I don't care. I'm really rich. 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