Mitch PerryA new series of polls taken in the first four states to hold GOP presidential primaries next year shows that although Jeb Bush maintains a small lead in New Hampshire, he cannot be declared the front runner at this early juncture. Although there is no consensus leader, unquestionably the man with the momentum now is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who leads in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada.
During the past two weeks, TargetPoint Consulting has conducted a series of statewide surveys in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina on behalf of the Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. It shows that in Iowa, where next January’s caucus begins the presidential sweepstakes, Walker gets 21 percent of the vote, more than double that of Bush, who gets 10 percent. Mike Huckabee gets 9 percent, Rand Paul 8 percent, Ben Carson 7 percent and Chris Christie 5 percent.
New Hampshire holds the first primary election of 2016, and just like the WBUR poll taken this past weekend, Bush is tops, gaining 15 percent of the vote. He’s followed by Walker with 11 percent, Rand Paul at 10 percent and Chris Christie at 9 percent.
Walker also leads in Nevada, with 18 percent support, compared to Bush’s 12 percent and Paul’s 9 percent. Marco Rubio makes an appearance in the poll, tied with Ben Carson at 7 percent.
In South Carolina, Walker is out front but statistically tied with Sen. Lindsey Graham, Huckabee and Bush. Walker is at 12 percent, Graham at 11 percent, Huckabee at 10 percent, and Bush at 9 percent.
TargetPoint Consulting contacted 400 likely Republican caucus/primary voters in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina, and 3,000 likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, all between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3.
