Cruz says he welcomes ‘establishment’ backing Trump

Trump has surged in Florida to 48 percent among likely Republican voters, jumping 9 percent in the two months since the last FAU poll, when Trump had the support of 36 percent of likely Republican voters.

Sen. Ted Cruz, responding to a barrage of attacks from a sitting GOP governor and businessman Donald Trump, Wednesday said his campaign raised $700,000 in the hours after he was pointedly criticized by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. He has been the second choice in SC since November as non-establishment GOP candidates have dominated the top of polls in the Palmetto State. Both Cruz and Paul have ripped Trump in the past as a progressive establishment candidate.

“Every Republican in this race has at one time or another promised to defend religious liberty”, Cruz said. It’s easy to imagine Trump winning Iowa, New Hampshire, and SC, and then being the nominee, basically.

Trump was at 38 percent among the 433 likely Republican primary voters in the state surveyed on Monday and Tuesday, according to the poll. Marco Rubio-are also in double digits.

“Donald Trump took his first lead in the polls in North Carolina in July”, Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, said in a statement. OpinionSavvy and InsiderAdvantage did the poll for Morris News and FOX 5 Atlanta.

“He’s got a very big problem because he was born in Canada”, and there are experts who think that disqualifies him, Trump added. The founder of Opinion Savvy is the founding publisher of the Southern Political Report.

“You’re going to see me so much in New Hampshire you’re going to be so exhausted of me”, Trump said.

Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio are tied for the third spot with 10 percent each in the new CNN/WMUR Poll.

The poll was conducted the day after Thursday’s GOP presidential debate in North Charleston. Cruz has the allegiance of almost one in four or 23 percent, up from 16 percent on December 18. But he is viewed unfavorably by 51% of the state’s Republican voters, with 40% viewing him favorably.