Donald Trump has rocketed to the top of another new poll
A Fox News poll released Thursday showed the Republican presidential candidate Trump leading a crowded GOP primary field, with 18% of the vote.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who announced his entry into the race this week, also saw a bump. He's comes in second behind Trump, with 15% of the vote. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is third with 14%.
Trump and Walker were the biggest upward movers in the Fox poll over the past month. In a June poll released just before Trump officially announced his candidacy, he garnered 11% of the vote. Walker last month grabbed 9% of the GOP vote.
Trump has been at the center of a media firestorm since announcing his candicacy last month, when he commented that the Mexican government was sending "rapists" and drug runners to the US. He has since doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down on those comments - and more - even as several businesses and organizations have severed ties with him.
But he has spent much of the past month rocketing up in both national and key early-state polls, and now finds himself at or near the top of several of them.
"I am incredibly pleased that my message is resonating with people all over the United States," Trump said of the Fox News poll in a statement. "There are so many American's that are ready to make our country great again and I am the only one who can make it happen. We will bring back the jobs, bring back the money, and bring back the spirit!"
The Fox News poll also found that 44% of all voters said they think Trump is "basically right" that Mexico is sending "rapists" and other criminals to the US - including 70% of Republicans. And 59% of Republicans said they "admire" Trump, to 28% who say he's "just a loudmouth."
The new Fox News poll will likely be the final one from the network before it hosts the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 6. The top 10 in an average of five recent national polls will make the debate stage.
Rounding out the top 10 in the GOP primary field:
- US Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) - 8%
- US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) - 7%
- Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson - 6%
- US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) - 4%
- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - 4%
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie - 3%
- Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former US Sen. Rick Santorum - 2%