--- description: It's his biggest lead ever, according to CNN title: Trump Leads Latest Poll by Large Margin image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee32dcdd6971f1c6/698873d13c16394ea645b03c/gettyimages-499787622.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 # Trump Leads Latest Poll by Large Margin by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2015 3:32 PM CUT  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](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2015 3:32 PM CUT 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/ "undefined"), 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. \[[_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/04/politics/donald-trump-poll-cnn-orc-national/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/"},"headline":"Trump Leads Latest Poll by Large Margin","datePublished":"2015-12-04T15:32:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:07:14.476Z","description":"It's his biggest lead ever, according to CNN","url":"https://time.com/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","GOP","Donald Trump","trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee32dcdd6971f1c6/698873d13c16394ea645b03c/gettyimages-499787622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee32dcdd6971f1c6/698873d13c16394ea645b03c/gettyimages-499787622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS","caption":"US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS","creditText":"SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images","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/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/","name":"Trump Leads Latest Poll by Large Margin"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump","description":"Donald Trump's Most Ridiculous Quotes","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7MzTpVq2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-23T21:38:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7MzTpVq2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/","duration":"PT1M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4136436/donald-trump-ted-cruz-ben-carson-cnn-poll/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```