Sen. Ted Cruz is leading the pack in his home state of Texas before the Republican presidential primary, but his fellow GOP candidates Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are both closely nipping at his heels, polling only a few points behind him.
There’s less than a week left until the GOP primary in Cruz’s home state, and the latest poll of the potential Republican presidential nominees finds Cruz with a slight lead in the race.
According to the Emerson Polling Society’s latest survey released Wednesday, Cruz takes 29 percent of the vote, slightly edging out Trump and Rubio, but only by a few percentage points.
Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, took 28 percent of likely primary voters, while Rubio, who bested Cruz in South Carolina over the weekend, trails only four points behind at 25 percent.
The poll has other troublesome implications for Cruz.
When asked about how they view the candidates, it was Rubio who rose to the top of the pack, with 64 percent of likely GOP primary voters saying they viewed him favorably versus 29 percent who say they view him unfavorably.
Cruz’s favorability rating is less than Rubio’s, coming in at 56 percent favorable and 41 percent unfavorable.
Trump is the only one of the three candidates whose favorability rating is topsy turvy, with 45 percent of likely primary voters viewing him favorably compared to a 50 percent unfavorable opinion.
Worse for Cruz is how potential GOP voters view his honesty -- 37 percent of voters say he’s the candidate who has been the least honest about his record, followed by Trump who comes in at 35 percent.
Rubio came in third for voters who view him as the least honest, receiving nearly 17 percent of the vote.
The Texas Republican primary takes place next Tuesday, with a total of 155 delegates at stake. Voters are very familiar with Sen. Cruz, who has been a senator there since 2013. Prior to serving as a senator, Cruz was the Solicitor General in Texas. After the GOP candidates leave Texas, they’ll then battle off in several states during March.
The Florida presidential primary will take place March 15.
The Emerson College Polling Society poll was conducted from February 21-23, 2016. The GOP primary consisted of 446 likely primary voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.6%.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
