Poll: Fiorina Second, Trump Losing Ground Following CNN GOP Debate
According to new poll numbers, Carly Fiorina’s commanding performance in last week’s GOP debate on CNN not only benefitted her but tore down frontrunner Donald Trump.
In the CNN/ORC poll, Fiorina is now ranked second among likely GOP and Republican-leaning independent voters, according to CBS News. The network said Trump’s poll numbers are suffering as a result.
The survey, released Sunday morning, shows Trump still dominating the GOP field with 24 percent of support among registered Republican and independents who lean Republican — though that number has dropped 8 percentage points from a poll conducted in early September.
Fiorina replaced retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson for second place nationally, gathering 15 percent of Republican support. Carson trails closely behind her with 14 percent, a drop from the 19 percent of support he garnered in the previous poll. That makes the top three GOP contenders for the White House people who have never held public office, a trend reflected in last week’s CBS News poll showing American voters’ unfavorable views of Washington and career politicians.
Even though in the CNN poll, Fiorina has a commanding second place lead over her fellow Republican presidential contenders, in an NBC poll, Fiorina is ranked second with Trump growing his lead, according to Breitbart News.
“Trump has 29 percent support, up from 22 percent last month,” Breitbard said. “Fiorina, who didn’t register any support before summer, has surged into third place with 11 percent support. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson edged higher and is now in second place, with 14 percent support. The three outsider candidates, none of whom have held elected office, have the support of a strong majority, 54 percent, of the Republican electorate. Jeb Bush is fourth, with 8 percent support, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), each with 7 percent.”
The winning in the polls in Fiorina, but the biggest loser appears to be none other than Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who had started the campaign with much attention and promise. He had survived three highly contested elections in the last four years, including a recall as a result of his tactics during contract negotiations with Wisconsin teachers. The CNN poll shows Walker with less than one percent, the same total reflected in the NBC poll.
So was it the debate performance Fiorina gave last week or has Trump done something to impact his poll numbers? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
[Image via Justin Sullivan, Getty Images]
