Posted on 12/08/2015 10:54:02 AM PST by GonzoII
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has hit a new high in the North Carolina race in part because of his tough rhetoric on Islam, a new poll found.Trump gets 33 percent support among the state's Republicans, doubling the nearest contender, according to a survey from the liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) released Tuesday.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is in second place at 16 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) at 14 percent each.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush follows at 5 percent, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich each at 4 percent.
The survey was conducted before Trump ignited a firestorm of controversy this week by proposing that Muslims be barred from entering the country.
However, the poll tested GOP attitudes on Trump's previous rhetoric on Islam, and found his ideas are supported by a plurality of Republicans in the state.
Trump has flirted with the idea of a national registry for Muslims, has said the U.S. must spy on mosques and close down those believed to be disseminating extreme views, and has alleged that "thousands" of Muslim-Americans cheered the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks from rooftop parties in New Jersey.
The survey found that 48 percent of Republicans in North Carolina support a national database for Muslims, while only 33 percent who oppose the idea.
Thirty-five percent of Republicans in North Carolina "want to shut down the mosques in the U.S." according to the poll, with 33 percent saying they oppose the idea.
And 42 percent said they believe thousands of Arabs in New Jersey cheered the 9/11 terror attacks, against 26 percent who said they did not believe that happened.
All of those numbers are far greater among Trump's supporters.
Sixty-seven percent of Trump backers said they support a national database for Muslims; 51 percent said they want to see the nation's mosques shut down; and 62 percent said they believe thousands of Muslims cheered the 9/11 attacks at parties in New Jersey.
The PPP survey of 537 Republican primary voters in North Carolina was conducted between Dec. 5 and Dec. 7 and has a 4.2 percentage point margin of error.
Trump has increased his level of support in North Carolina in every PPP survey of North Carolina since July. Voters in the state will cast ballots March 15.
So apparently protecting our nation is who we are.
Go figure.
PING!!!
Jebbie at 5 percent still scares me; what is Barbara up to now?
Bingo. There is going to be some serious butt-hurt when the GOPe and media figure out that Americans actually don’t want to die at the hands of jihadists.
Well Ted Cruz has come out and says he disagrees with Trump’s moratorium so I look for him to start sinking in the polls in a few days. Trump has effectively moved to the right of Cruz and Rubio.
Trump is right!
Seriously though, you would have expected Jeb to persuade some of the lower tier players to leave the race so his numbers can go up. I am not saying it would matter much, but at this point, the GOPe plan to flood the primary with their backed candidates is not working.
GO TRUMP GO
He ALWAYS is ! :-)
It’s good to see someone who is putting American interests above those of illegal and legal immigrants for a change. For way too many years every single candidate has championed the rights of illegals over the rights of American citizens.
Those people who champion the rights of illegals over citizens, want subjects not citizens to predominate.
This is odd - the headline says he is rising in the polls since the islam controversy, but the article says the poll was taken before his suggested ban on immigrating more muslims.
Stealing this graphic!
Make Ready!
Hah! Some spokesminion from the Rainbow Bathhouse issued a diktat that Trump is now ineligible as a candidate.
We shall see.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.