Trump, Clinton Lead In National Poll Heading Into Super Tuesday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are leading their presidential races as they head into Super Tuesday, according to a new CNN/ORC national poll.
Trump has 49 percent of the Republican vote, a large lead over his next closest GOP rival, Marco Rubio, at 16 percent, according to the poll. Closely behind Rubio was Ted Cruz at 15 percent.
Ben Carson follows at 10 percent with John Kasich rounding out the field with 6 percent of Republican support.
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The poll also found that 35 percent of voters say Trump is the most trustworthy and honest candidate followed by Carson at 22 percent, Cruz at 14 percent and Rubio at 13 percent.
By significant margins, Trump is also viewed as the candidate who is best able to solve the country's problems, understand the problems facing the average voter and handle the responsibilities of commander-in-chief.
On the Democratic side, Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 55 percent to 38 percent.
The poll surveyed 1,001 adults by telephone Feb. 24 through 27. There were 418 registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and 427 registered Republicans and Republican-leaning voters in the sample and a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent for each group.
Another new CBS battleground tracker poll has Trump ahead in Georgia and Virgina, but he trails Cruz in Texas.
With 13 states holding Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, the campaign has deteriorated rapidly, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
Rubio hit Trump a little below the belt.
"He doesn't sweat because his pores are clogged with spray tan that he uses," he told a rally. "He's always calling me 'Little Marco' and I'll admit, he's taller than me -- he's like 6'2'' which is why I don't understand why his hands are the size of someone who is 5'2". Have you seen his hands? And you know what they say about men with small hands? You can't trust them."
Candidates are also taking aim at Trump for failing to condemn supportive comments from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Trump was asked on CNN's "State of the Union'' whether he rejected support from the former KKK Grand Dragon and other white supremacists after Duke told his radio followers this week that a vote against Trump was equivalent to "treason to your heritage.''
"Well, just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke. OK?'' Trump said. "I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists.''
Rubio quickly pounced on Trump's comments, saying the GOP "cannot be a party who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan.''
"Not only is that wrong, it makes him unelectable,'' Rubio told thousands of supporters gathered in Leesburg, Virginia. "How are we going to grow the party if we nominate someone who doesn't repudiate the Ku Klux Klan?''
Cruz called Trump's comments "Really sad.''
"You're better than this,'' Cruz wrote on Twitter. "We should all agree, racism is wrong, KKK is abhorrent.''
"Donald Trump refused to disassociate himself from white supremacists," Kasich said. "That's just horrific."
On Monday, Trump told NBC's "Today'' that he was given a "very bad earpiece'' for the Sunday interview and that he "disavowed David Duke all weekend long on Facebook and on Twitter.''
Rubio shot back Monday that no matter how bad the earpiece, "Ku Klux Klan' comes through pretty clearly.''
The audience responded to Rubio's attacks with chants of "Dump Trump, dump Trump!''
Meanwhile, anti-Trump PACs started running an ad in Super Tuesday states to highlight what they call Trump's disturbing affection for anti-American dictators, Kramer reported.
Clinton and her team are growing increasingly confident that they are on track to capture their party's nomination.
She has also started taking on Trump, saying there's no need to "Make American Great Again," as Trump proclaims. She said America is already great.
Sanders said he is looking ahead to the Tuesday contests and beyond, expressing confidence that he can remain competitive.
The stakes are high for Super Tuesday with 595 Republican delegates and 865 Democratic delegates up for grabs.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
