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.
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.
-
Sundance Film Festival looks for a new home as movie buffs dial inIn the Spotlight The festival will be moving to Salt Lake City, Boulder, Colorado, or Cincinnati
-
The Week contest: Trillionaire tomePuzzles and Quizzes
-
'On arrival, workers faced a system of racial segregation'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
White House withdraws Trump's spending freezeSpeed Read President Donald Trump's budget office has rescinded a directive that froze trillions of dollars in federal aid and sowed bipartisan chaos
-
OpenAI announces ChatGPT Gov for government useSpeed Read The artificial intelligence research company has launched a new version of its chatbot tailored for the US government
-
Caroline Kennedy urges Senate to reject RFK Jr.Speed Read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin said he should not become President Donald Trump's health secretary, calling his medical views 'dangerous'
-
GOP senator reneged on voting against HegsethSpeed Read North Carolina senator Thom Tillis provided the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
-
Trump sparks chaos with spending, aid freezesSpeed Read A sudden freeze on federal grants and loans by President Donald Trump's administration has created widespread confusion
-
Trump feuds with Colombia on deportee flightsSpeed Read Colombia has backed off from a trade war with the U.S., reaching an agreement on accepting deported migrants following tariff threats from President Donald Trump
-
Trump proposal to 'clean out' Gaza gets cool receptionSpeed Read U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza
-
Trump orders release of JFK, RFK, MLK Jr. filesSpeed Read The president signed an executive order to release classified documents related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
