35 percent of rednecks...

Trump up to 35 percent in CBS/NYT national poll

By Nick Gass

More than one-in-three Republican primary voters say they would vote for Donald Trump, according to the results of the latest CBS News/New York Times national poll released Thursday morning. Most of the results were collected, however, before the Manhattan businessman called for a temporary halt to Muslims entering the United States.

Trump picked up 35 percent, leading Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, in second place, with 16 percent. Ben Carson, who led the same poll in October, finished third this time, with 13 percent. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio followed with 9 percent, with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at just 3 percent.

Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by 20 points — 52 percent to 32 percent. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley earned 2 percent.

At the same time, among all voters, 24 percent expressed concern and 40 percent feared what Trump would do as president, while 23 percent expressed concern and 34 percent fear at a Clinton presidency. Along partisan lines, 24 percent of Republicans said a Trump presidency would be exciting, while 41 percent said they were optimistic, while a third said it scared them as well.

The poll was conducted via landlines and cellphones from Dec. 4 to 8, surveying 1,053 registered voters nationwide, including 431 Republican primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points and 384 Democratic primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.