--- description: 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to dominate the national Republican polls, according to a WSJ/NBC poll out Sunday. title: Donald Trump Holds Lead in New Poll as GOP Debate Nears image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6678427b14faf4e/69885d79a988cade286b3b64/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Donald Trump Holds Lead in New Poll as GOP Debate Nears  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 2, 2015 2:47 PM CUT  Presidential contender Donald Trump poses for the media during the third day of the Women's British Open golf championship on the Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland on Aug. 01, 2015. Presidential contender Donald Trump poses for the media during the third day of the Women's British Open golf championship on the Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland on Aug. 01, 2015.Scott Heppell—AP  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 2, 2015 2:47 PM CUT Donald Trump [continues](http://time.com/3977894/donald-trump-polling-republican/ "undefined") to lead the Republican primary field for the 2016 presidential nomination just days before the leading candidates debate for the first time, according to results from a Wall Street _Journal_/NBC News [poll](http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-leads-republican-presidential-pack-wsj-nbc-poll-finds-1438520400 "undefined") released on Sunday. The poll found that Trump was the first choice for 19% of Republican primary voters, surging ahead of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 15% and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 14%. Trump’s lead, according to the _Journal_, is a “significant” jump from the previous WSJ/NBC [poll](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/trump-surges-new-nbc-news-wsj-poll-n402036 "undefined") conducted in June, when only 1% of surveyed Republicans had picked him as their first choice — a triumph many have attributed to the buzz surrounding Trump’s flurry of [controversies](http://time.com/3944471/donald-trump-mexican-immigrants/ "undefined"). Only the 10 candidates with the highest averages across the last five national polls will be eligible to participate on Thursday’s inaugural GOP debate on Fox News. Although the precise averaging method is not yet known, NBC estimated that the top ten candidates as of Sunday — in addition to Trump, Walker and Bush — are Sen. Rand Paul, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. [Firmly atop](http://time.com/3977894/donald-trump-polling-republican/ "undefined") the national polls, the real state mogul also took the opportunity on Sunday morning to take a jab at some of his fellow GOP candidates, who attended an [event](http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/scott-walker-courts-donors-at-koch-brothers-event-in-california-b99548897z1-320399272.html "undefined") on Saturday hosted by a group affiliated with multibillionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch: > [](http://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/627841345789558788) The WSJ/NBC poll, whose full results will be released on Monday, was conducted between July 26 and July 30\. The margin of error for 252 surveyed GOP primary voters is ±6.17%. **Read Next:** [_The Trumpification of Congress_](http://time.com/3977116/congress-john-boehner-mark-meadows/ "undefined") ### 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 \[[_WSJ_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-leads-republican-presidential-pack-wsj-nbc-poll-finds-1438520400 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3981372/donald-trump-poll-gop-debate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3981372/donald-trump-poll-gop-debate/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Holds Lead in New Poll as GOP Debate Nears","datePublished":"2015-08-02T14:47:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:12.689Z","description":"The Trump surge shows no sign of abating","url":"https://time.com/3981372/donald-trump-poll-gop-debate/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6678427b14faf4e/69885d79a988cade286b3b64/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6678427b14faf4e/69885d79a988cade286b3b64/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"donald trump","caption":"donald trump","creditText":"Scott Heppell—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3981372/donald-trump-poll-gop-debate/","name":"Donald Trump Holds Lead in New Poll as GOP Debate Nears"}}]}] ```