PPP's newest North Carolina poll helps to show how Ted Cruz's surge after entering the race is stunting Scott Walker's momentum a little bit. Jeb Bush now leads the GOP field in the state with 19% to 16% for Walker, with Cruz, Mike Huckabee, and Marco Rubio each at 11%, Ben Carson at 9%, Chris Christie at 7%, Rand Paul at 6%, and Rick Perry at 2%.
Cruz is up 8 points from his 3% standing a month ago, while Walker is down 8 points from 24% standing on that previous poll. Those shifts are not a coincidence- Cruz is really eating into Walker's support with voters who describe themselves as 'very conservative.' A month ago Walker led Cruz 32/7 with them, but now the spread is just 19/17. And when you ask Cruz supporters who their second choice is, 39% pick Walker with no one else getting more than 16%. It's clear that Walker has been the main person hurt by Cruz's sudden strength.
Only 2 other candidates saw their support move by more than 2 points in North Carolina compared to our last poll. Rubio's support is up 4 points from 7% to 11%, Mike Huckabee's is down 4 points from 15% to 11%, and Ben Carson's is down 3 points from 12% to 9%. Huckabee and Carson were also on the decline on our national poll last week.
On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton leads with 53% to 13% for Joe Biden, 11% for Elizabeth Warren, 5% for Martin O'Malley, 3% for Jim Webb, and 2% for Bernie Sanders. Everyone's support is within 3 points of where it was a month ago.
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/04/bush-reclaims-lead-from-walker-in-nc.html
