POLITICS

Trump holds 10 point lead over Cruz among Georgia voters, poll shows

Walter C. Jones
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Milford, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

ATLANTA | Donald Trump's 10-point lead over Ted Cruz among Georgia voters is as strong as anywhere in the country, according to a survey for Morris News Service released Monday.

Trump claims one out of every three people questioned who said they plan to vote in the March 1 primary or 33 percent. Cruz has the allegiance of nearly one in four or 23 percent, up from 16 percent on Dec. 18.

The other candidates were in single digits in the survey of 803 likely voters conducted by automated callers to phones and mobile devices. It was conducted Sunday by OpinionSavvy in conjunction with InsiderAdvantage for Morris News and FOX5 Atlanta. The margin of error is 3.5 percent.

"Donald Trump continues to lead among every age group and across every segment of voter alignment, ranging from those who say they are very conservative to the few respondents who claim to be liberal," said Matt Towery, founder of InsiderAdvantage and a former Republican strategist. "Cruz continues to make progress in the numbers as well."

Trump leads among women, men, whites and blacks who took the survey. Trump came in second among Latinos to Marco Rubio.

The margin of error effectively lumps the rest of the pack together with Rubio holding 8 percent, Jeb Bush and Ben Carson 7 percent, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich and Rand Paul at 4 percent. Mike Huckabee has 3, and Rick Santorum had less than one among respondents Sunday night.

Three percent remain undecided.

"The debates are continuing to have an impact on voters," Towery said. "Well over 60 percent of respondents to the poll say they watched the recent Fox Business Network debate. Of those who watched, 35 percent said Trump won the debate with 20 percent saying Cruz won the contest."

Bush had the worst debate performance, according the biggest group, followed by Kasich.

OpinionSavvy surveys released Sunday for South Carolina and Monday for Florida reflected similar results, except for Bush and Rubio holding slightly more support in Florida where they have each won statewide races.

Since the December Georgia poll, Rubio has slipped 5 points and Christie lost 3.

Walter Jones: (404) 589-8424