Donald Trump has held a significant lead over the other 2016 Republican presidential contenders in the polls for months. Now a new poll of Republican and Republican-leaning federal employees shows Trump leading his GOP rivals among that demographic as well.
Twenty percent of federal employees who identify as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents said they would support the billionaire real estate mogul if the primary were held today, according to the poll from the Government Business Council.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida tied in second place with 11 percent each. Two of the candidates generally regarded as front-runners in the GOP field, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, didn't fare too well among federal workers, with Bush coming in seventh place and Walker in eighth.
Trump's success in the polls, however, still hasn't manged to translate over to his favorability ratings. As with most other polls that show Trump leading the Republican field, respondents gave Trump the highest unfavorability rating among Republican and Democratic candidates. Such ratings seem to be inevitable for an outspoken and off-the-cuff candidate who has held headlines with a number of controversial statements and feuds in recent months.
More than 67 percent of federal workers polled said they have an unfavorable view of Trump. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul had the next least favorable ratings, tying at 65 percent.
Retired Neurosurgeon Ben Carson had the highest favorability rating among Republican respondents, at 37 percent. Rubio came next with 35 percent favorability.
Carson and Ohio Gov. John Kasich were the only two who received higher favorable than unfavorable ratings.
Former Secretary of State and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton netted the highest favorability ratings out of all candidates from both parties, with 41 percent positive ratings, though more people, 54 percent, still viewed her unfavorably.
Forty-four percent of Democratic-leaning respondents said they would vote for Clinton if the primary were held today, compared to the 18 percent who said they would vote for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The poll was conducted among a random sample of 973 federal employees and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
