Again, it's important not to get carried away by this result. Trump is
not going to win the nomination. Winning 24 percent of Republicans is impressive in a crowded field, but it's still very far away from a majority of the party. Additionally, Trump's polling surge
resembles those of past "outsider" candidates known for saying provocative things, like Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain — candidates who all eventually collapsed. GOP elites will go to the mattresses to stop Trump, who
looks toxic in a general election, from being their nominee. Trump's candidacy may collapse well before the first ballots are cast, and even if it survives until then, the party will eventually find a non-Trump alternative to unify around.
Yet one risk inherent to that is that Trump could fund his own
third-party candidacy — and this new poll finds that in a three-way race, Hillary Clinton would get 46 percent, Jeb Bush 30 percent, and Trump 20 percent.