Donald Trump Polls: Win In Third Debate Propels Trump Back Into Frontrunner Status
Donald Trump could be taking a jump in the polls, with a decisive win in the third Republican presidential debate likely to push the real estate magnate back into the lead.
Trump, who was the Republican frontrunner for several months dating back to the summer, recently saw his lead dissipate and fall into a statistical tie with Ben Carson. But on Wednesday he turned in a strong performance in the debate, with polls showing that Donald Trump was the overwhelming winner.
Thank you Colorado! An honor to win @NBC @9News #GOPDebate Poll. pic.twitter.com/rvnUQemej0
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2015
While there was some question on the first two debates, this time Trump was the near-unanimous winner, with online polls from Time, the Drudge Report, and CNBC all showing him as the victor.
Some were not even close. Drudge showed Trump ahead of his nearest competitor by 32 points (54 percent claimed Trump won as opposed to 22 percent for Senator Ted Cruz).
The debate victory came at a very important time for Donald Trump, who is trying to recover in polls after seeing Ben Carson close the gap. A new poll from Reuters/Ipsos showed that Trump is ahead of Carson by only 2 percent, 29 percent to 27 percent, which is within the poll’s margin of error. Carson was actually beating Trump in a CBS News/New York Times poll, the first time in several months that Trump was not on top.
Still, Trump had several advantages in the poll, including a fluid Republican voter base and strong feelings from those backing him. CBS reported:
“But the state of the race can change. Seven in 10 Republican primary voters say it is too early to say for sure that their mind is made up about which candidate they will support. This percentage is about what it was at a similar point in the Republican race four years ago. While Carson may have moved to the top of the pack, Trump’s supporters are more firm in their candidate choice than Carson’s. More than half of Trump voters say their minds are made up about which candidate to back, compared to 19 percent who are currently backing Carson.”
The win has many political experts saying Trump is once again seen as the frontrunner in an increasingly tight race.
With the leveling out in his poll numbers, Donald Trump has also shifted his strategy. He has moved away from the attacks on his rivals and bragging about poll numbers and instead softened his approach, the Washington Post noted.
In an appearance in Nevada this week, he took questions from voters and talked about his leadership and negotiating skills. Trump also assured voters that he is serious about his presidential aspirations.
“It’s not about being a celebrity,” Trump said. “It’s about having a view that’s captivating the people in this country, because they’re tired of being taken advantage of, they’re tired of being stupid, they’re tired of having their leaders be outnegotiated on every single deal. They’re tired of it. They’re tired of having China rip us off on every trade deal — and Japan and Mexico and everybody else. They’re tired of it.”
Trump has still kept up his attacks on President Obama and the Democratic Party, moving his focus beyond his Republican primary opponents and laying what could be the groundwork for a GOP primary win and a true presidential run.
.@realDonaldTrump: I think @POTUS “hates Israel” https://t.co/0SVrrzXBF1 pic.twitter.com/WSoCG02xvg
— CNN (@CNN) October 29, 2015
But beyond his poll numbers, Donald Trump is taking a new focus on the endgame. His campaign has increased efforts to build its on-the-ground game, establishing the kind of grassroots support that would help him when it comes time to vote.
[Image via Instagram/Donald Trump]
