Trumps lead stays the same (post-debate) other candidates rise

[Judicial review]

Poll Donald Trump leads after debate - Business Insider

Another interesting finding is a surge in popularity for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. While almost every candidate besides Fiorina remained virtually unchanged considering the margin of error, Cruz shot up to 13% from 6% in the NBC/SurveyMonkey poll.

The poll showed a surge in popularity that corresponds with what many respondents saw as a strong debate performance: Aside from Fiorina and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Republican primary voters said Cruz performed best at the debate.

Morning Consult, however, found that Cruz's support had dropped within the margin-of-error, so it's unclear whether NBC/SurveyMonkey's poll is an outlier.

Many political pundits on both sides of the spectrum have said Trump's supposedly poor debate performance, as well his subsequent tangling with Fox News host Megyn Kelly, would most likely result in a drop in popularity.

The new polls don't show that effect — yet. But it's unclear whether Trump will remain at the same levels after his widely condemned comments about Kelly on Friday, when he made a remark that critics interpreted as lewd and sexist.

Morning Consult's Reid Wilson, however, wrote that Trump's "support shows no evidence of slipping after he told a CNN anchor on Friday night that Kelly, one of three moderators overseeing the Fox News debate, had 'blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.'"

The polls were mostly conducted on Friday and Saturday, meaning many voters may not have been fully aware of those comments when responding to the poll.


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