Ted Cruz overtakes Donald Trump in new NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday night found a new frontrunner in the Republican presidential race: Ted Cruz. The junior senator from Texas had the support of 28 percent of GOP primary voters nationwide, versus 26 percent for Donald Trump — a 7-point tumble for Trump from the January NBC/WSJ poll (though about what he was polling in December's survey). Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) came in third with 17 percent, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 11 percent, Ben Carson came in at 10 percent, and Jeb Bush had a new low of 4 percent.
Republican pollster Bill McInturff said his poll, conducted Feb. 14-16 in concert with Democratic pollster Fred Yang, likely represents a "pause" as GOP voters take a new look at Trump after Saturday's feisty debate. Most national polls show Trump comfortably in the lead, but some of those included polling conducted before the debate, NBC News points out. "When you see a number this different, it means you might be right on top of a shift in the campaign," McInturff said. "What you don't know yet is if the change is going to take place or if it is a momentary 'pause' before the numbers snap back into place," as they did for Trump after a previous "pause" last summer.
The NBC/WSJ poll has Trump still leading in South Carolina, but in head-to-head matchups with rival GOP candidates, he loses to Cruz and Rubio. The poll included 400 Republican primary voters and has a margin of error of ±4.9 percentage points. Learn more in the NBC News report below. Peter Weber
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu
Speed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam Bondi
Speed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published