New Indiana Poll: Cruz Up by 16 Points Over Trump

By Todd Beamon / NEWSMAX

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A third poll was released Friday gauging Indiana voters ahead of the state's primaries on Tuesday — but this one shows Ted Cruz holding a commanding double-digit lead over Donald Trump among Republicans.

Here are the results of the poll of 400 likely GOP voters by the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne:

• Cruz: 45 percent.
• Trump: 29 percent.
• John Kasich: 13 percent.

The Downs Center's poll comes after one showed Trump ahead of the Texas senator by 9 points — and another putting the candidates in a virtual dead heat — among Hoosier State voters.

The Downs Center poll was reported by The Tribune-Star in Terre Haute.

In explaining its results, the center said that 2016 was "quite a departure with competition in both presidential primaries, including a neighboring state's governor swapping states with a competitor a week prior to voting, a vice presidential candidate nomination, and presidential candidates from both sides sweeping through the state.

 

"Because 2016 is different than any previous primary election, the electorate is difficult to predict for either the Democratic or Republican presidential primaries, as well as the U.S. Republican Senate seat."

 

Further, "the Republican primary electorate remains relatively open to changing their vote with one-sixth of Cruz supporters, three in 10 Trump supporters and over 43 percent of Kasich supporters saying their preference for their candidate is not strong," the center said.

The Downs Center also surveyed 400 likely Democrats. Here are those results:

• Hillary Clinton: 55 percent.
• Bernie Sanders: 40 percent.

"While Clinton may have a lead, it should be remembered that Sanders has closed substantial leads in other states such as neighboring Michigan," the analysis said. "With this in mind, Clinton's support is stronger than Sanders' support at this time."