Donald Trump is doing great in one key primary state, according to a new poll released Tuesday in New Hampshire. The billionaire real-estate mogul running in the Republican presidential race surprised a lot of people when it was discovered that New Hampshire is backing the polarizing figure more than expected.
Trump fell in second place — only behind Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The governor got 14 percent and Trump trailed him at 12 percent in the Suffolk University survey, Yahoo! reports .
Director Suffolk University Political Research Center, David Paleologos, has a clear theory on why Trump is going so far right now in one of the key primary states early in the game.
“Jeb Bush continues to lead, but Donald Trump has emerged as an anti-Jeb Bush alternative in New Hampshire.”
When the businessman announced his official run for president on June 16, Trump was one of the least liked Republican candidates. Paleologos says Trump’s “detractors are divided among many other options” in the vast number of GOP candidates.
The Wall Street Journal released more numbers in the New Hampshire primary poll. It gave a few more details around the early primary poll results.
“The poll of 500 likely GOP presidential primary voters found 14% back Mr. Bush. Mr. Trump is right behind at 11%. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio come next, with 8% and 7%, respectively. The poll tested 19 GOP candidates – a rare survey that included ultra-longshots like Mark Everson and former Govs. Bob Ehrlich and Jim Gilmore.”
Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed have a favorable opinion of Trump versus the 49 percent who have an unfavorable view.
When it comes to the candidate with the “largest gap between favorable and unfavorable ratings,” Rubio has 61 percent favorable to 14 percent unfavorable. Rubio was also chosen as the second choice by 13 percent of those who took the poll. He essentially holds the same ranking in New Hampshire as Trump.
According to WJS , the poll that consisted of 500 “likely New Hampshire Republican presidential primary voters” was taken from June 18 – 22. The report states that the margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
“Many of those who like Trump are voting for him, and although many more dislike him, the unfavorables are split up among many other candidates. It’s the politics of plurality,” Paleologos says.
Political analysts are taking notice of the early New Hampshire primaries. Does this mean Trump isn’t to be underestimated? As Paleologos emphasized, it’s more likely that Donald Trump is an “alternative” to Bush and the other Republican candidates.
[Photo by Christopher Gregory/Getty Images]
