Good news for Republicans: You might actually have a candidate with a solid chance to take down Donald Trump. The bad news: It’s Ben Carson.
In the new Monmouth University poll, Trump leads the overall field with 30 percent support, followed by Carson at 18 percent, Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz at 8 percent each, and 5 percent for Marco Rubio.
The pollster also tested Trump in one-on-one trial heats against GOP alternatives — simulating a sort of runoff election, to see whether Trump might just be ahead due to the rest of the field being so divided. And out of nine tests, only one candidate, the retired neurosurgeon and fellow anti-establishment insurgent Carson, bested The Donald. Indeed, Trump is simply obliterating the competition in most of these showdowns.
- Trump 56 percent, Bush 37 percent
- Trump 63 percent, Christie 30 percent
- Trump 62 percent, Kasich 29 percent
- Trump 60 percent, Paul 27 percent
- Trump 53 percent, Walker 38 percent
- Trump 52 percent, Rubio 38 percent
- Trump 50 percent, Fiorina 37 percent
- Trump 48 percent, Cruz 41 percent
By contrast, Carson would actually lead Trump by a landslide, 55 percent to 36 percent. Perhaps the good doctor is voicing all of the same right-wing craziness as The Donald — but in a much nicer, soft-spoken package. Maybe Republicans just really want someone with no political experience.
Photo: Republican 2016 U.S. presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson answers a question at the first official Republican presidential candidates debate of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign in Cleveland, Ohio, August 6, 2015. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk
