Pew: Jeb Now Polling at 4 Percent, CollapsesBehind Rubio
By Cathy Burke / NEWSMAX

 

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Jeb Bush has dropped into sixth place as real estate and TV billionaire Donald Trump is maintaining his lead in the Republican presidential campaign field, a new poll shows.

In the Pew Research Center survey released Friday, 4 percent of likely GOP primary voters pick the former Florida governor as their first choice for the nomination; 25 percent select Trump, 16 percent choose retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tie with 8 percent, and 6 percent name Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"At this stage of the 2016 presidential campaign, key issues divide both Republican and Democratic voters, and early candidate preferences reflect some of these cleavages," Pew writes.

The poll finds 25 percent of potential Republican primary voters don't mention a first choice at this point.

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The survey also finds:

• 66 percent say it's more important for a presidential candidate to have new ideas and a different approach, while 29 percent say experience and a proven record are more important.
• 33 percent of GOP primary voters who value new ideas name Trump as their first choice; only 8 percent who say experience is more important would pick the real estate mogul.

"Overall, 66 percent of GOP potential primary voters say immigration is a very important issue in their decision about who to vote for in 2016," Pew writes.

"However, 84 percent of those who say they would be more likely to support a candidate who wants to deport all undocumented immigrants say the issue is central to their presidential vote."

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percent.