--- title: Ted Cruz Closes In on Donald Trump in New National Poll description: Ted Cruz ekes out a lead over Donald Trump, while Marco Rubio appears to be gaining traction, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. canonical: https://time.com/4228156/donald-trump-ted-cruz-national-poll/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-17T22:01:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:59.188Z article:section: Politics og:title: Cruz Closes In on Trump in New National Poll og:description: Ted Cruz ekes out a lead over Donald Trump, while Marco Rubio appears to be gaining traction og:url: https://time.com/4228156/donald-trump-ted-cruz-national-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b54fef79cf90580/69887b0d5f570f441ab1f623/gettyimages-505043546.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: GOP Presidential Candidates Debate In Charleston og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cruz Closes In on Trump in New National Poll twitter:description: Ted Cruz ekes out a lead over Donald Trump, while Marco Rubio appears to be gaining traction twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b54fef79cf90580/69887b0d5f570f441ab1f623/gettyimages-505043546.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cruz Closes In on Trump in New National Poll > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ed6a31a4-47a3-45f4-a5b5-fb4c5b0bdcf7&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Ninth GOP Debate In Less Than Four MInutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Ninth GOP Debate In Less Than Four MInutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SNLcU0ea.m3u8) (3:54)  _Published 2016-02-14_ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Feb 17, 2016 10:01 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidates (L-R) Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speak during a commercial break in the Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center on January 14, 2016 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Republican presidential candidates (L-R) Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speak during a commercial break in the Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center on January 14, 2016 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Feb 17, 2016 10:01 PM UTC Texas Senator Ted Cruz is closing in on Donald Trump in the [race for the Republican presidential nomination](http://time.com/4205539/donald-trump-oral-history/), beating the billionaire by a narrow 2 percentage points in a new national poll. Although Cruz’s lead in the new NBC News/_Wall Street Journal_ poll is within its 4.9 percentage-point margin of error, the fact that Cruz is this close is notable since Trump has maintained such a strong lead over opponents for several months. The poll has Cruz as the first choice of 28% of Republican primary voters, while Trump is behind with 26%. The two are followed by Senator Marco Rubio (17%), Ohio Governor John Kasich (11%), Ben Carson (10%) and former Florida governor Jeb Bush (4%). There may be good news for Rubio here; [as Cruz and Trump continue to tangle in the polls, his stock keeps on growing](http://time.com/4227973/marco-rubio-nikki-haley-south-carolina-endorsement/) — some 70% of GOP primary voters could see themselves supporting him and he bests Trump in a head-to-head matchup 57% to 41%. Trump held a 13-point lead over Cruz last month, but this poll was conducted after Saturday’s GOP debate in South Carolina, where the billionaire was [booed several times by the audience](http://time.com/4221465/republican-debate-donald-trump-booed/). Other national surveys show Trump still in the lead, but the NBC/_Wall Street Journal_ poll appears to be one of the few conducted after the debate. NBC/_Wall Street Journal_ conducted the poll from Feb. 14 to 16 with input from 800 registered voters, of which 400 were Republican primary voters. ## Transcript Gentlemen, please join us on stage. Well first of all, I don't know he knows what I said on Univision because he doesn't speak spanish. And second of all, the other point that I would make- [ FOREIGN ] Thank you for including me in the debate, two questions already. This is great. [ LAUGH ] I'm sick and tired of Barack Obama blaming my brother for all of the problems that he's had. That's a matter of principle and I'll- You are the single biggest liar. You probably are worse than Jeb Bush. You are the single biggest liar. Cuz for a number of weeks now, Ted Cruz has just been telling lies. He lied about Ben Carson in Iowa. [ APPLAUSE ] He lies about Planned Parenthood. [ APPLAUSE ] When you point to his own record, he screams liar, liar, liar. Ronald Reagan was a liberal maybe in the 1950s. He was a conservative reform governor for eight years before he became president. And he didn't tear down people like Donald Trump is, he tore down the Berlin Wall. I gotta tell you, this is just crazy? [ APPLAUSE ] This is just nuts okay? Geez man. Please join us and our candidates on our stage in a moment of silence for Justice Scalia. We are one Justice away from a supreme court that will strike down every restriction on abortion adopted by the states. We are one justice away from a supreme court that will reverse the Heller decision, one of Justice Scalia's seminal decisions. that upheld the second amendment right to keep and bear arms I think it's up to Mitch McConnell and everybody else to stop it, it's called delay, delay, delay >> and someone on this stage will get to choose the balance of the Supreme Court and it will begin by filling this vacancy that's there now. And we need to put people on the bench that understand that the constitution is not a living and breathing document. It's to be interpreted as it was originally meant I thank God all the time that it was George W Bush in the White House on 9 / 11 and not Al Gore. [ APPLAUSE ] You have to knock out ISIS, they're chopping off heads. These are animals. Vladimir Putin's not gonna be an ally of the United States, the whole world knows this. [ APPLAUSE ] It's a simple basic fact. They're not taking out [ APPLAUSE ] They're not even attempting to take out ISIS. There were not weapons of mass destruction. [ CROSSTALK ] [ SOUND ] [ CROSSTALK ] If it is required to use ground troops to defeat ISIS, we should use them, but we ought to start with using our incredible air power advantage. The war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake. I will build a wall, remember this The wall will be paid for by Mexico. We are not being treated right. [ APPLAUSE ] We are not being treated properly. I think there has to be consequences for violating our immigration laws. The great majority of people that come to this country, come because they have no other choice. They want to come to provide their families. That doesn't mean it's right. Coming here legally should be a lot easier than coming here illegally. But the motivation? They're not all rapists, as you- know- who said. When I announced that I was running for President on June 16th, illegal immigration wasn't even a subject. You know the Lord made all of us special. The Lord wants us to be connected. I believe we're part of a very big mosaic. We have this manipulation by the political class and by the media, telling us who we're supposed to pick and how we're supposed to live. We the people are the only people who determine that. We need someone with a servant's heart, that has a back bone, that isn't gonna focus on polls and focus groups. That's gonna focus on the American people to keep them safe and secure. Our culture is in trouble, wrong is now considered right. And right is considered wrong. And all the things that once held our families together are now under constant assault. Do you want another Washington deal maker? Who will do business as usual, cut deals with the Democrats, grow government, grow debt, and give up our fundamental liberties. We're gonna make our country great and we're gonna do the right thing. I'm working for you, I'm not working for anybody else. Thank you very much. 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