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PPP's new Maryland poll finds both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton with double digit leads heading into next week's primary election. Trump isn't looking as dominant as he is in New York, polling at 43%. But he's benefiting from a similar dynamic to the Empire State in that there is no clear alternative to him- John Kasich and Ted Cruz are closely matched for second place at 29% and 24% respectively. Trump is by far the most broadly popular candidate among GOP voters in the state with a 57/37 favorability rating compared to 48/35 for Kasich and 33/50 for Cruz....

A growing number of states and local governments are turning to an unconventional method of financing possible fixes to big social problems, motivated by tight budgets and little incentive to take a chance on initiatives without a guarantee of results. On Tuesday, officials in Connecticut, South Carolina and Colorado announced new public/private arrangements to fund so-called "pay for success" projects that aim to help families struggling with drug addiction, improve health outcomes for poor mothers and their children and reduce chronic homelessness. The concept, often referred to as "social impact bonds," involves a government entity teaming up with a private...

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has announced with members of the state general assembly a plan allowing the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to add at least one additional lane in each direction to a 25-mile stretch of Interstate 55 near Chicago using a public-private partnership (P3) agreement. IDOT is allowed to use P3 agreements only if the general assembly adopts a resolution supporting a proposed project, a state law in place since 2011. This would be the first P3 managed lane project in the state. “By using existing resources to leverage private investment, we can build the type of infrastructure...

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump holds an 8-point lead in Iowa, just four days before the first-in-the-nation caucuses there, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released Thursday. The billionaire businessman secured 31 percent support, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in second, with 23 percent, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), at 14 percent, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, at 9 percent. Former Govs. Jeb Bush (Fla.) and Mike Huckabee (Ark.), along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), tie for fifth, with 4 percent each.

PPP's newest New Hampshire poll finds Donald Trump leading in the state by 14 points. Trump's position in the state has been steady over the last three months- we found him at 28% in mid-October, 27% in early December, and we find him at 29% this month. 5 other candidates are in double digits but pretty closely clustered and all well behind Trump- Marco Rubio at 15%, Chris Christie and John Kasich at 11%, and Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz at 10%. Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina at 4%, Rand Paul at 3%, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum at 1%,...

The National Park Service and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) have announced a new partnership to construct the nation's first bicycle High Occupancy/Toll Express Lanes on the Mount Vernon Trail between Rosslyn and Mount Vernon.

Full title: Trump Lead Grows Nationally; 41% of His Voters Want to Bomb Country From Aladdin; Clinton Maintains Big Lead PPP's newest national Republican primary poll finds Donald Trump holding his largest lead yet in the wake of Tuesday night's debate. He's at 34% to 18% for Ted Cruz, 13% for Marco Rubio, 7% for Jeb Bush, 6% for Ben Carson, 5% for Chris Christie, 4% each for Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, 2% each for John Kasich and Rand Paul, 1% each for Lindsey Graham and Rick Santorum, and less than 1% each for Jim Gilmore and George Pataki...

Almost one-third of Republican primary voters would support bombing the fictional kingdom of Agrabah, according to a report released by Public Policy Polling on Friday. In its poll, Public Policy Polling asked the 532 Republicans: “Would you support or oppose bombing Agrabah?” While 57% of responders said they were not sure, 30% said they supported bombing it. Only 13% opposed it.

PPP (D) 2016 GOP Nomination Poll Donald Trump 34% {26%} [27%] (29%) {19%}Ted Cruz 18% {14%} [7%] (6%) {4%} [8%] (10%) {16%} [5%] (9%) Marco Rubio 13% {13%} [13%] (7%) {10%} [13%] (13%) {6%} [3%]  Jeb Bush 7% {5%} [10%] (9%) {12%} [15%] (11%) {17%} [17%] (17%) Ben Carson 6% {19%} [17%] (15%) {10%} [12%] (12%) {10%} [18%] (15%) Chris Christie 5% {3%} [2%] (2%) {3%} [4%] (5%) {4%} [5%] (7%) Carly Fiorina 4% {4%} [6%] (8%) {4%} [5%]  Mike Huckabee 4% {4%} [4%] (5%) {8%} [11%] (12%) {6%} [10%] (9%) John Kasich 2% {3%} [4%] (6%) {3%} Rand Paul...

National Survey Results.

According to a new poll by Public Policy Polling, Donald Trump continues to be the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. The billionaire businessman has 26% support among Republican voters. He's followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 19%. In PPP's last poll from early October, Carson had 17% and Trump 27%. This is a positive development for those who want Trump to fail, but it's a far cry from the inevitable Trump collapse many experts predict. If one thing is clear, it's that he certainly has staying power. That doesn't mean he will actually win, but he certainly has a...

The only one of the declared presidential candidates that Americans have positive feelings for overall isn’t a frontrunner and has never held public office before. According to a poll released Thursday by Public Policy Polling, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is the sole presidential candidate whose favorability rating is higher than his or her unfavorability rating. When asked about Carson, 41 percent of the respondents in the national poll reported that they felt favorably about him, compared to 30 percent who have an unfavorable view. That puts him well ahead of all the other candidates in the field, though 29 percent...

Tonight, Public Policy Polling gave the Rachel Maddow Show a sneak peek at their results of their August 28-30 poll to be released tomorrow. While the findings at the top of the poll are what we've come to expect from the Republican field - Donald Trump and Ben Carson - securing the top spots - what is more surprising is to find beltway-favored candidates Chris Christie and Rand Paul floundering at the bottom with barely any support. The poll also shows the tea party character of the Republican Party, with strong birther views and a dubious grasp of some key...

... A new survey from Public Policy Polling finds that one-third of Republicans believe the Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theory that “the government is trying to take over Texas,” and another 28 percent of GOP voters haven’t made up their minds yet about the matter ...

PPP's newest Republican national poll finds that Ted Cruz has the big momentum following the official announcement of his candidacy last week. His support has increased from 5% to 16% in just over a month, enough to make him one of three candidates in the top tier of GOP contenders, along with Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. Walker continues to lead the field with 20%, although that's down from his 25% standing a month ago. Bush continues to poll at 17%, followed by Cruz at 16%, Ben Carson and Rand Paul at 10%, Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee at 6%,...

Mitt Romney’s not running for President again, telling supporters that it’s time for the Republican Party to look to other leaders for its future. Democrats may wonder whether they have to tell Hillary Clinton the same thing. In a PPP poll taken this week, Hillary Clinton can’t get to 50% against any Republican challenger paired against her, even Romney: The automated poll of nearly 900 registered voters, conducted last week by Public Policy Polling, found that 48 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Clinton, compared to 43 percent who viewed the former secretary of State favorably.While Clinton...

PPP's newest North Carolina poll finds Kay Hagan continuing to grow her lead over Thom Tillis as the legislative session drags on. Hagan now has 41% to 34% for Tillis and 8% for Libertarian Sean Haugh. Her lead is up from 2 points in May and 5 points in June. The protracted legislative session with Tillis at the helm of it can't be doing him any favors. Only 19% of voters approve of the job the General Assembly is doing to 57% who disapprove, and legislative Republicans specifically have a 31/52 favorability rating. Those things are working together to help...

Opponents of immigration reform seized on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s shocking primary defeat Tuesday night as a clear referendum against a sweeping overhaul – particularly one that includes so-called “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants. Not so fast – at least according to one new poll. Democrats are making the case that it was Cantor himself – not immigration – that dealt a powerful blow to the one-time rising Republican star’s political career. And they are releasing new data on Wednesday to back up their argument. About 72 percent of registered voters in Cantor’s district polled on Tuesday said they either...

It looks like Michigan will remain solidly in the blue column if Hillary Clinton runs for President in 2016. She leads her potential Republican opponents in the state by anywhere from 9 to 12 points: it's 46/37 over Chris Christie, 48/39 over Rand Paul, 49/38 over Jeb Bush, and 50/38 over Mike Huckabee. Republicans are split a lot of different ways when it comes to who they'd like as their nominee in 2016. 16% want Rand Paul, 15% each support Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee, 11% are for Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush is at 9%, Paul Ryan and Scott Walker...

Conservative Republicans are not happy with Sen. Lindsey Graham’s liberal voting record. Monday night, Lexington County GOP voted overwhelmingly to censure Lindsey Graham on 29 counts of violating the SC GOP party platform. See resolution here. Passing a censure resolution to rebuke the Senator for abandoning the Party’s platform hasn’t been easy though.