Trump falls after second debate, still leads all GOP polls

Though his lead is down from an all-time high, several polls all agree that Donald Trump is still sitting anywhere from six to eight points ahead of his closest challenger for the Republican nomination. Most polls show Ben Carson in second place with either Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio fighting for fourth.

A collection of three recent polls, hat tip to Hot Air:

Quinnipiac: Trump 25, Carson 17, Fiorina 12, Bush 10
Fox News: Trump 26, Carson 18, Fiorina 9, Rubio 9
Bloomberg: Trump 21, Carson 16, Bush 13, Fiorina 11

Trump is down, but will he flatten out or are we on the cusp of a deeper fall if the attacks against him continue daily? He’s taking jabs from other candidates who seem to have found him less invincible than he was a month ago when any criticism tended to backfire on the one doing the criticizing.

Report from Fox News:

Trump stays on top with 26 percent among GOP primary voters, followed by Carson at 18 percent. Fiorina and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are next, tied at 9 percent. All four have gained ground. After the August Fox News debate, Trump had 25 percent, while Carson had 12 percent, Fiorina 5 percent and Rubio 4 percent.

Trump holds his leader status even though he was once again rated in the poll as having done the worst job in the debate. Fiorina, Rubio and Carson receive positive marks for their performances.

The appeal of outsiders comes from significant dissatisfaction with the party establishment: 62 percent of Republican primary voters feel “betrayed” by politicians in their party, and another 66 percent say the recent Republican majorities in Washington have failed to do all they could to block or reverse President Obama’s agenda. For comparison, 40 percent of Democratic primary voters feel betrayed by their party.

Frustration with party leaders has been a recurring theme for one sitting GOP senator in the race, Ted Cruz of Texas, who is next in the poll at eight percent. He was at 10 percent in August.

I’d been waiting a sufficient amount of time to comment on post-debate polls since it takes days for the repercussions to really filter to the masses. Trump is once again embroiled in a skirmish with Fox News which seems to be a monthly event at this point.