What is there even to say at this point about
yet another poll showing Donald Trump leading the Republican presidential primary? In this case, the poll is of New Hampshire, it comes from Monmouth University, and the lead is 12 points ... over runner-up Jeb Bush's 12 points. Yep, that's double.
One-quarter of likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire currently support Donald Trump (24%), with Jeb Bush placing second at 12%. Rounding out the top ten are newly announced candidate John Kasich (7%), Scott Walker (7%), Marco Rubio (6%), Ben Carson (5%), Rand Paul (5%), Chris Christie (4%), Carly Fiorina (3%) and Ted Cruz (3%). Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, and George Pataki each get 2%, while Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Lindsey Graham, and Jim Gilmore earn 1% or less.. Another 14% of likely primary voters are undecided.
Republicans seeking to downplay Trump's status as a representative of their party may point to the fact that "Trump does better among registered independents and new voters (29%) likely to go to the polls in February than he does among already registered Republicans (21%)," but that's still a damn big lead among registered Republicans, and Trump leads by large margins among very conservative voters, somewhat conservative voters, and tea party supporters.
Get used to it, guys. Donald Trump is undeniably one of the faces of the Republican Party.