Poll: 6 in 10 Republicans embarrassed by GOP race, 46 percent back Donald Trump

(Image credit: John Sommers II/Getty Images)

last updated 22 March 2016

A new poll for CBS News and The New York Times has some good news for just about everyone in the 2016 presidential race, but also plenty of bad news. Donald Trump, for example, is the choice of 46 percent of Republican primary voters, his highest number yet in the poll, and 3 in 4 of them expect him to be the nominee. But he also has the highest unfavorable number among all voters, 57 percent, of any presidential candidate going back to at least 1984. Half of all voters say they would be "scared" if he were elected, and another 19 percent would be "concerned." A full 88 percent of Republican primary voters say their party is divided, only 51 percent have a favorable view of the party, and 60 percent are mostly embarrassed by the GOP presidential race.

Things are more cohesive for the Democrats, with only 33 percent saying the party is divided, 13 percent mostly embarrassed by the race, and 82 percent holding a favorable view of their party. Things are more dicey for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who has the second-highest unfavorable rating among all voters, 52 percent, and the enthusiastic support of only 40 percent of Democratic primary voters (versus 56 percent for Bernie Sanders — though Clinton beats Sanders when it comes to whom Democrats want as their nominee, 50 percent to 44 percent). Both Clinton and Sanders would beat Trump in a head-to-head matchup, by 10 and 15 points, respectively. Clinton would beat Ted Cruz by 3 points and lose to John Kasich by 4 points.

A majority of independents, meanwhile, hold unfavorable views of both parties — 77 percent view the GOP negatively and 55 percent say the same of the Democrats — and also their respective frontrunners, the poll found. The poll was conducted March 17-20 with 1,252 adults, and has a margin of error of ±3 percentage points. You can read more at The New York Times or CBS News.

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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.