Survey: Donald Trump leads GOP candidates in Arizona ahead of second debate
Sep 16, 2015, 4:59 AM
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign event in Dallas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
(AP Photo/LM Otero)
PHOENIX — If Arizona Republican voters were to head to the polls today, Donald Trump would likely be the candidate of choice, a survey showed.
MBQF, a public affairs consulting firm in Phoenix, said a weekend survey of 650 Arizona Republicans showed Trump lead the pack with 29.9 percent of the vote. Ben Carson followed with 21.3 percent and Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz rounded out the top five.
“Trump still leads the field by a comfortable margin, and his overall favorability is 49.2 percent, but he needs to watch his negatives as well,” pollster Mike Noble said. “It’s not all champagne, roses and doughnuts.”
The poll was taken just days before the second Republican presidential debate, scheduled for Wednesday at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. A first debate will be held at 3 p.m. Arizona time, while the leading candidates should take the stage about 5 p.m.
Noble said the debate will serve as a make-or-break moment for several fringe candidates.
“Rand Paul, Chris Christie, John Kasich — all of them have to have a good showing,” he said. “Scott Walker’s numbers have been dropping since the first debate. I think a lot of them are holding on for dear life right now and if they don’t have a good outing I think we’re going to see some more folks drop off.”
