Trump leads first national 2016 poll by 17 points

New year, same big lead for Donald Trump. The NBC News/Survey Monkey poll, which came out Tuesday, reveals that Trump continues to lead the Republican presidential field by a wide margin in 2016, with 35 percent to second-place Ted Cruz's 18 percent. In third is Marco Rubio with 13 percent, followed by Ben Carson with 9 percent, Jeb Bush with 6 percent, Chris Christie with 4 percent, and Carly Fiorina with 3 percent.
The poll, the first of 2016, also found that the real estate magnate's supporters are very loyal. Over half — 51 percent — of Trump supporters said they would "absolutely" vote for him, while 33 percent said there was a "large chance" they would. Only 36 percent of Cruz supporters say they'd "absolutely" vote for him and just 26 percent of Rubio voters said the same.
The poll, which surveyed 3,181 Republican or Republican-leaning registered voters, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Lemon and courgette carbonara recipe
The Week Recommends Zingy and fresh, this pasta is a summer treat
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the Left
Talking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
-
Oasis reunited: definitely maybe a triumph
Talking Point The reunion of a band with 'the power of Led Zeppelin' and 'the swagger of the Rolling Stones'
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling