Poll: Donald Trump still leads with Arizona GOP, but Marco Rubio gaining
Feb 23, 2016, 4:02 PM
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump looks out onto the crowd during a rally Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
PHOENIX — Donald Trump is still the leading presidential candidate among Arizona Republicans, but Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is nipping at his heels.
A poll from public affairs consulting firm MBQF released Tuesday found the New York billionaire leads all other candidates with 34.8 percent of GOP voter support, followed by Rubio’s 22.7 percent in Arizona’s March 22 presidential primary.
Just one month ago, the same agency had Rubio sitting at 11.4 percent while Trump had 38.3 percent.
Michael Noble with MBQF said the poll proves one thing: Trump has limits.
“The poll shows what many have long discussed: Trump has a ceiling and cannot attract the wide swath of GOP voters,” he said in a release.
Noble also said the poll shows Trump may enjoy popular support now, but that will likely fall off in November’s general election.
Trump’s latest perceived rival, Ted Cruz, came in third in this week’s poll with 14.1 percent.
The margin of error in this week’s poll of 736 Republican voters was 3.61 percent.
About 21 percent of respondents said they have yet to pick a candidate.
This week was not the first time Trump’s reign at the top of the polls for Arizona GOP voters has been threatened.
In October, the same agency found Dr. Ben Carson was leading the New York billionaire, albeit within the poll’s margin of error.
