Donald Trump is outpolling all other Republican candidates in New Hampshire except for Jeb Bush, according to a new survey released Tuesday.
In a poll fielded immediately after their presidential announcements last week, Bush earned 14% of the vote in the crowded GOP field, followed by Trump with 11%. Nearly a third of respondents said they were undecided.
The results from Suffolk University are the clearest indication yet that Trump, the billionaire with a penchant for bombastic rhetoric and outlandish claims, is catching on with Republican voters early on in the cycle. Pollsters tend to caution that surveys more than six months before any votes are cast may simply be registering each contender’s name recognition — of which Trump has plenty.
Trump, though, is a deeply polarizing figure in the Granite State — 49% of respondents said they had an unfavorable opinion of him, while only 37% viewed him positively.
“Trump’s controversial candidacy is being constructed in a way that gives him visibility and exposure in the short term but may also limit his growth in the long run, like a glass ceiling,” David Paleologos, who directed the poll, said in a statement.
New Hampshire, with its first-in-the-nation primary, is a key battleground for 2016 hopefuls.
Trailing Bush and Trump were Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at 8%, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 7%, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 6% and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 5%. No other candidates earned more than 5% in the Suffolk survey.
When asked for their second choice candidate, 14% of likely GOP voters named Bush, 13% selected Rubio, 10% picked Walker, 7% said Trump and 6% said businesswoman Carly Fiorina.
Suffolk surveyed 500 likely New Hampshire Republican voters between June 18 and June 22, yielding a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.